South-West rail review

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin this week pledged to develop a “long-term solution” to the resilience of the rail network in South West England after storms once again damaged the trackbed on the Dawlish sea wall between Exeter and Newton Abbot. Network Rail says it will take six weeks to reinstate the line, which provides the only rail link into west Devon, Plymouth and Cornwall. McLoughlin told MPs: “The immediate priority is to assess the damage and develop a plan for getting the line back into service as soon as possible, but I am acutely conscious of the need to develop a long-term solution to the resilience of the railway network in the South West and I have asked for a report to me on the options for addressing this problem.”