Council leader praises swift rail response
Devon County Council leader, John Hart, has today offered praise for the “swift” response to the unprecedented rail problems affecting the South West.
The disruptions are mainly the result of the recent severe weather destroying around 80m of coastal track near Dawlish limiting the region’s transport links.
Extra pressure came over the weekend when a landslip on track near Yeovil cut off Devon’s rail link to the rest of the country.
Although initial expectations thought the repair work would take a week the line was re-opened just a day later.
However the repair work on the destroyed Dawlish line is now expected to take until at least mid-April before reaching completion.
A spokesman for Network Rail described the repair process (Video): “work to protect the damaged sea wall site in Dawlish from the sea is going well in between high tides.
“A row of shipping containers is being put in place and filled with rubble to provide a breakwater, while concrete spraying has continued, in order to protect the vulnerable sub-soil.”
A bus service is currently replacing the line between Exeter St. Davids and Newton Abbot as all trains are suspended until the track can re-open.
Council leader, John Hart praised the rail and bus companies and Exeter based airline Flybe for their response to the disruption.
"I want to thank First Great Western, Cross Country and South West Trains for the way they have arranged a timetable of alternative coaches and reduced prices as a concession to travellers for the disruption," he said.
"And I want to commend all the rail companies for their swift response to the landslip in Somerset this weekend so that the Waterloo line to Exeter is open again today along with the Exeter to Paddington line.
"National Express and Flybe are laying on extra coaches and flights to the South West and I want to commend them for pledging not to hike prices to take advantage.
"When I met the Transport Secretary on Friday I emphasised the need for an urgent and coordinated response by Government and I think the Prime Minister's visit today is evidence of the importance he places on resolving our problems.
"But I must reiterate Devon's very real need for extra financial help to enable us to deal with all the repairs needed on our roads.
"I welcome the Government's pledge to resume dredging on the Somerset Levels and to launch an urgent review of how to improve the resilience of our rail network throughout the far South West.
"We can't control the weather but we can make sure that we are better able to cope with the sort of extreme weather we have seen this winter. And we must do it urgently.
"In the meantime we must all join together to proclaim that Devon is open for business.
“We are eager for visitors to come and geared up for firms to invest here and boost our economy, providing good, well-paid jobs for our people.
"It may take a little longer to get here temporarily but we are investing in the facilities that businesses need and there is a warm welcome awaiting them.
"Lastly I want to pay a heartfelt tribute to the wonderful community spirit that has been shown throughout Devon over these last few days.
"People often bemoan the lack of community in modern society but I think this emergency has shown that when the chips are down there is still real kindness and a willingness to help across our communities in Devon."
