'Cliffs are enemy not the sea' for railway says MP

Fresh concerns have been raised about rail services out of Devon and Cornwall, with MPs warning crumbling cliffs could block the track.

A storm destroyed part of the sea wall at Dawlish in Devon in February 2014, leaving rails hanging in mid-air and cutting off the line into the South West.

Since then, Network Rail has spent £165m on improvements but work on a stretch of cliffs between Parson's Tunnel and Teignmouth has been put on hold because it is considered too expensive.

Torbay Lib Dem MP Steve Darling told the House of Commons the cliffs were "the enemy now, rather than the sea", while transport minister Simon Lightwood said significant investment had improved the line's resilience.

Darling also said climate change was creating new challenges through more extreme weather, while hotter summers were drying out soil and increasing the risk of track problems caused by ground movement, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Labour MP for Truro and Falmouth Jayne Kirkham warned of the dangers of the cliffs and argued that people in the South West were expected to accept disruption that would not be tolerated elsewhere.

Liberal Democrat MP Richard Foord said passengers faced delays, cancellations and overcrowded services.

"Passengers deserve railways that withstand the climate conditions that we are set to face."

Lightwood pointed to recent storms when services resumed the day after a closure.

"The new seawall performed as designed, helping to protect the infrastructure from major damage," he said.

He added that investigations were continuing into the unfinished final phase of the resilience project, including drainage trials aimed at removing water from the cliffs.

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