Dawlish

Network Rail has started work on the second section of the new, bigger sea wall at Dawlish, in Devon, which will provide greater protection to the railway and town from rising sea levels and extreme weather for generations to come.

Construction of this next section of the £80 million upgrade, which starts today (Tuesday 10 November), will take around two years to complete and follows years of detailed studies, designs and joint working between world-leading marine, coastal and railway engineering experts.

The section from Dawlish station to the Coastguard breakwater east of the station is expected to be completed in late 2021, whilst the section between the station and the Colonnade breakwater, which will link up the new wall at Marine Parade, will start to be built shortly after.

A major aspect of this work involves the use of an innovative eight-legged, self-contained walking jack-up barge, known as a ‘Wavewalker’. The ‘Wavewalker’ is only one of its kind in Europe and it will be the first time this type of barge has been used to maintain the UK rail network.

Location: Dawlish

Original line: South Devon Railway

Photographer: Network Rail

Contact photographer: Network Rail

Contact editor

Date: 11/2020

Image number: 74976


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