Go Back
Client
Network Rail
Project Value
Confidential
Services Provided
Cost Management
About the project
The section of Western Route, MLN1, that runs between Exeter and Newton Abbot is located along the estuaries and coastline of south Devon. The coastal section was originally carved out of the coastal cliffs in 1840, as the route provided the level formation required for Brunel’s atmospheric railway. The railway was subsequently widened from single to two tracks in 1905 and the alignment has remained largely unchanged since this time.
Following the disruptions to the railway caused by the storm events of 2014, a resilience study was undertaken to build an evidence-based strategy that identified interventions to improve the resilience of the route for the next 100 years. Phase 4 covers the stretch of the railway between Dawlish and Parson’s Tunnel, Holcombe. The resilience measures installed includes coir matting on the cliff face, with stainless steel netting and soil nails drilled to a depth of up to 12m into the cliff. Phase 5 is currently under development and covers the 1.8km section of railway running along the coastline from Parson’s Tunnel to Teignmouth.