Media centre

Tuesday 6 Nov 2018

Railway in Devon to be closed tomorrow morning owing to extreme weather

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

Passengers in the south west are being advised to check before they travel tomorrow morning with no services running through Dawlish and Teignmouth in Devon owing to expected extreme weather.

Strong winds and high tides mean the line between Exeter and Newton Abbot needs to be closed for safety reasons, with the line expected to be closed all morning.

Once the poor weather passes, Network Rail engineers will inspect the railway before opening the line as soon as it is safe to do so.

Passenger advice:

From the start of service, GWR and CrossCountry will be unable to operate a train service on the sea wall at Dawlish, until the sea level has reduced, and Network Rail has inspected the line.

• GWR will operate replacement road transport between Exeter St David's and Newton Abbot. There will also be ticket acceptance in places with local buses.
• CrossCountry will operate replacement road transport between Tiverton Parkway and Plymouth.

GWR will not be operating a train service between Exeter St David's and Newton Abbot in both directions from the start of service on Wednesday 7 November.

Train services between London Paddington, Plymouth and Penzance:

GWR expects to be able to operate train services between London Paddington and Exeter St David's.

GWR expects to be able to operate train services between Newton Abbot, Plymouth and Penzance.

Train services between Paignton and Exmouth:

GWR expects to be able to operate a train service between Paignton and Newton Abbot.

GWR expects to be able to operate a train service between between Exeter St David's and Exmouth.

Please check GWR.com or National Rail Enquiries for more information.

Mark Langman, Western route managing director for Network Rail, said: “Safety is our priority and owing to expected extreme weather tomorrow no services will be able to run through Dawlish and Teignmouth in the morning.

“Strong winds and high tides are expected and once the poor weather has passed our engineers will inspect the railway and reopen the line once it is safe to do so.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank passengers for their patience.”