More torrential rain for Cornwall and Devon tomorrow and Tuesday, also into next week.
Less windy, that said.

Thoughts and prayers for Dawlish Station's relatively new lifts today and this evening.

Mark

Dawlish: Lifts out of order

The lifts will be out of order between platform 2 and the car park from now until further notice at Dawlish station.
Last Updated:25/01/2026 16:02

Ouch, that is not good.

The line is open to long distance trains, with all services using the reversible Up line between Dawlish Warren and Teignmouth. No rail services calling at stations between Exeter St David's and Newton Abbot - these are being served by rail replacement buses.

Pushed out till 1600 tomorrow

Cancellations to services between Exeter St Davids and Newton Abbot
Due to severe weather earlier between Exeter St Davids and Newton Abbot:

Train services running through these stations will be cancelled or suspended. Disruption is expected until 16:00 25/01.

......wouldn't be surprised if there are further extensions?

A sinkhole has been discovered on the section between Parsons Tunnel and Teignmouth with possible voiding. 

You can almost see the thought bubble above his helmet...

Well, reopening of the line through Dawlish may have taken a big knock. 

A sinkhole has been discovered on the section between Parsons Tunnel and Teignmouth with possible voiding. 

Oh, and spare a thought for this Network Rail worker:
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1HASxXofpJ/

The BBC news article has now been updated again.

With my thanks to the BBC, I will quote here a few items:

You can almost see the thought bubble above his helmet:

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"Oh, for flip's sake ... "  [Image from here is not available to guests]

I wonder if we'd have been talking about 2014 levels of damage had the resiliance works not been undertaken?

Great Western Railway (GWR) said the sea wall at Dawlish would be inspected once the storm had passed and services would be suspended until at least 18:00 GMT.

Rail services have also been cancelled between Par and Newquay and Liskeard and Looe due to flooding.

GWR spokesman James Davis said: "There's been a significant amount of debris that the sea has thrown onto the track that will need to be cleared before we can run trains safely.

"The line remains closed and we have a limited bus replacement service operating.

"Clearly, if the same number of people choose to travel as normal you're going to find yourself waiting quite some time."

Blimey!  [Image from here is not available to guests] [Image from here is not available to guests]

Storm Ingrid: Part of historic Teignmouth pier washes away in 'wild' storm

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Part of Teignmouth Grand Pier has washed away in the storm

Part of a historic pier has washed away as Storm Ingrid brings heavy rain and strong winds to Devon and Cornwall.

Teignmouth mayor Cate Williams said the town had "taken a real battering" overnight into Saturday with "just wild" waves damaging part of the Teignmouth Grand Pier.

A Met Office yellow warning for rain is in place until 22:00 GMT and the Environment Agency said flood warnings were in place across the south Devon and south Cornwall coasts.

Great Western Railway said the line between Exeter St Davids and Plymouth would remain shut until at least 14:00 because a "significant amount of debris" was on the track at Dawlish due to waves breaching the sea wall.

Teignmouth's mayor said it was "sad" to see part of the resort's pier, which opened in 1867, washed away. "It has lost part of the pier structure itself, that has dissolved and gone away into the sea," she said. "It's an old pier and it was needing some attention and I suppose age and wear and tear has taken its toll. It has survived many weather conditions as well as world wars. It's sad when you look at it now to see some of it now missing."

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A tree fell down in Heavitree Park in Exeter during high winds

Trees have also come down across the region, with one blocking both lanes of the A377 near Lapford, Devon County Council said.

Cornwall Council warned trees might still be weak or unstable following Storm Goretti.

Meanwhile, Network Rail issued a black alert, its highest warning, as 12ft (4m) waves hit the sea wall at Dawlish. It is only the second time a black alert has been issued since a storm destroyed sections of the track around Dawlish in February 2014.

Rail services have also been cancelled between Par and Newquay and Liskeard and Looe due to flooding.

GWR said the sea wall at Dawlish would be inspected once the storm had passed. The firm advised passengers to avoid rail travel until later with tickets remaining valid on Sunday.

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Waves overtopped the sea wall at Penzance on Friday

GWR spokesman James Davis said: "There's been a significant amount of debris that the sea has thrown onto the track that will need to be cleared before we can run trains safely. The line remains closed and we have a limited bus replacement service operating. Clearly, if the same number of people choose to travel as normal you're going to find yourself waiting quite some time."

Reading elsewhere suggestions that it's the line-side wall separating the railway from the coast path rather than the sea wall itself but yes, I would imagine it will slow the reopening somewhat?

We are struggling to source any replacement road transport - we have fully exhausted the south of England for vehicles for tonight

Sea: 1, train carriage window: 0.

Storm Ingrid: Trains cancelled in black alert over storm threat

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A new sea wall was built at Dawlish after the track was destroyed in 2014

Rail passengers are facing a service shutdown on the south coast due to heavy rain and strong winds caused by Storm Ingrid.

Network Rail issued a black alert, the highest warning from 20:30 to 22:30 GMT on Friday, with 12ft (4m) waves expected to hit the sea wall at Dawlish and gusts of up to 60mph (96km/h) expected. It is only the second time a black alert has been issued since a storm destroyed sections of the track around Dawlish in February 2014.

Great Western Railway (GWR) said the line between Exeter St Davids and Newton Abbot would shut between 20:30 on Friday and 14:00 on Saturday, due to "significant risk" of sea water breaching the Dawlish sea wall.

Chris Fuoco, Devon and Cornwall director of Network Rail, said it was "the first time we've had our highest alert" since 2014. He added: "We are just taking every safety precaution we can to make sure everyone is safe. High tide tomorrow is a problem, as well, so we will inspect the line tomorrow before we can reopen it. Mother nature can do some dangerous things to the railway so we have to stay on top of that."

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In Paignton, Torbay, waves crash against the sea wall

A new sea wall was built in Dawlish at a cost of about £80m after the storm in 2014 left the track dangling in the air.

GWR said: "Predicted heavy and persistent rain in the south west, combined with gusts of up to 60mph in coastal areas during high tide, represents a significant risk of sea water breaching the Dawlish sea wall, and debris on the railway."

Train services would run between London Paddington and Exeter St Davids, and Newton Abbot towards Penzance, said GWR. It added replacement coaches were on standby.

(BBC news article continues)

At Newton Abbot now. It was lively, but could have been a lot worse!

Yes, I too originally thought that 'permanent resiliance' meant the line being able to stay open, but it has been made clear that it meant that it was to make it resiliant to major damage leading to lengthy closures like we saw in 2014.

Temporary closure, in extreme weather like today, will still happen from time to time although the better protection should mean it doesn't happen so often.  Though to counter that the IET/Voyager fleet's own resiliance is poor as we know due to the roof mounted resistors.

The 'permanent resiliance' is about much more than just the immediate sea wall around Dawlish, with cliff strengthening works and a rock fall shelter to reduce the risk of and danger from landslip/cliff collapse.

"Predicted heavy and persistent rain in the south west, combined with gusts of up to 60mph in coastal areas during high tide, represents a significant risk of sea water breaching the Dawlish sea wall, and debris on the railway," it said.

'No'...unless of course the driver can see something ahead that will affect the safety of their train such as washed away track or a landslide...and react in time to stop the train!

No. 

That's a good point: is there any discretion for the train driver in the cab to look at the situation realtime and say, 'I'm not driving my train into that'?

The voyager 8 cars has now gone through nonstop on the down line. Maybe it's up to the discretion of the drivers?

"Permanent" struggling with the heavy lifting that was assigned to it.

The local trains don't seem to be cancelled and what does it mean for the 175 stock move from Wolverton this afternoon?

Yes full line closure this evening, last through service Paddinton to Penzance is the 1503, after this buses from Tiverton Parkway to Plymouth provided. Sleepers are cancelled.

It happened yesterday and I think Monday too.   High tide at Teignmouth this morning was 08:03 at nearly 15ft coupled with strong southerly winds.   

Thanks Grahame,

I appreciate I was possibly asking a lot...

Paul

That’s a repeat of your post #119 in April 2022, is that definitely what you meant to post today?

Paul

This video may be of interest, it shows the Teramare ship being used for delivering heavy plant to the worksite.
https://www.dawlishbeach.com/2021/11/how-do-they-get-the-large-machinery-to-the-beach/

The railway through Dawlish is now better protected as construction of the new, bigger sea wall has reached another major milestone.

The installation of all 164 wall panels, 203 pre-cast blocks and 189 recurve units which return waves back out to sea is now complete. This innovative design coupled with the increased height of the new sea wall will help prevent delays and disruption to passengers by minimising the likelihood of the tracks flooding and allowing the line to reopen more quickly after major storms.

The first section of new sea wall – which runs for 360 metres along Marine Parade south west of Dawlish station – was completed in July 2020. Construction of the 415 metre second section – stretching from Coastguard breakwater northeast of Dawlish station to Colonnade breakwater – began in November 2020.

Following the significant progress made installing the wall panels, blocks and recurve units, Network Rail and its contractors BAM Nuttall are now fully focused on completing the link bridge that will connect the two sections of public, accessible promenade and the new stilling basin, where Dawlish Water runs into the sea.

This work is now expected to be finished in December, due to the discovery of an uncharted gas main in June which delayed piling to install foundations for the new link bridge close to Colonnade viaduct...

Not seen the description "Embedded Inspector" before. Have the contractors embedded him in concrete?

Not seen the description "Embedded Inspector" before. Have the contractors embedded him in concrete?