Wednesday 3 December 2014





THE DRENCHED DAWLISH DEBATE.




I have always loved Dawlish.

For those who have no idea where I'm talking about, it's in South West England about 12 miles from the lovely city of Exeter in Devon. 

For years people have been debating the future of the railway line between Exeter and Newton Abbot which runs literally along the edge of the beach. The only thing protecting it it is a sea wall that is no damn use whatsoever in a storm. As you can see here:



Now I can understand why people are complaining. The cost of repairing the hole in the railway line after the storm in February 2014 cost 15 million pounds, which is an awful lot of money to pay on something that will get damaged again next winter.

There has been a proposal to move the line inland for Intercity traffic and leave the beachside line just for local commuter services. However, I have a feeling that once the re-routed mainline is in place, Network Rail will shut the coastal line for good, citing that now they have the mainline it would no longer be commercially or economically viable to keep it going.

It is true that the Dawlish section of the South Devon route in particular is in desperate need of an upgrade. The station itself could use a new lick of paint, if nothing else.

However, this is not just about the viability of the line - not for me anyway. I have been staying in Devon for my holidays on and off for most of my life. As a child I lived in Exeter at my Grandma's house two weeks of the year, every year and spent my days on the beach in Dawlish. I have great memories. Even on a stormy day, Dawlish was a playground as I rode along on a train with the window open and made a game out of trying not to get soaked!

And then there is the scenery. Could you ever find a better view from a train in the UK? Not to my knowledge - it's just beautiful.

To close this line would keep this beautiful view hidden from everyone, which would be incredibly sad. 

Also this is one of  Isambard Kingdom Brunel's greatest achievements; having to blast through the sandstone rather than trying to go over the Holden Hills. It's a fantastic piece of engineering. To close it would dishonour not only Brunel's memory, but the memory of all those who sadly died in it's construction.  

I'm all for a re-route inland, it makes perfect sense, but at the expense of God's Wonderful Railway? NO.

If the Dawlish Warren  - Teignmouth section of this line is closed for good, my memories will be washed away with the line, and I couldn't stand that.

Look for ways to solve this problem, sure, but leave Brunel's engineering masterpiece alone, please. 


Sunny Day In Dawlish


  









No comments:

Post a Comment