Dawlish - permanent resilience work - ongoing discussions

[whole diary]

[a-driver]

Part of the seawall has been knocked over onto the down main. 

I can't see it opening today,  from Coast Cams there's still waves crashing over and the line through the Dawlish station appears to be flooded

[Chris from Nailsea]

Blimey! 

[TaplowGreen]

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?

[a-driver]

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?

The picture shows which part of the wall has been damaged.  I only define it as part of the seawall purely because without it the track bed would continually be washed away or flooded.   

[JayMac]

Many less informed people on social media complain that it's modern trains' inability to cope with a spray of seawater being the reason trains are on stop. That is a concern, but the main reason is passenger (and staff) safety.

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

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

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^▸ (Great Western Railway) 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."

[IndustryInsider]

Blimey! 

Sometimes you just have to admit that mother nature has won this battle. 

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

[Chris from Nailsea]

The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) news item has been updated to include this image:

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Thanks for that, Ingrid. 

[Chris from Nailsea]

The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) news article has now been updated again.

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

Video clip of Teignmouth Grand Pier being washed away - click on the link here to view;

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[ChrisB]

....and

Great Western Railway (GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)) 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."

[a-driver]

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

Dawlish itself seems to have escaped major flooding as had occurred prior to the resilience works and when you see videos of waves crashing against the new seawall you can see it working as designed

[Chris from Nailsea]

You can almost see the thought bubble above his helmet:

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"Oh, for flip's sake ... " 

[TonyK]

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

Never mind the Orange Army. This is the Orange Navy in action!

The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) news article has now been updated again.

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

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"You can't park there, mate."

You can almost see the thought bubble above his helmet:

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"Oh, for flip's sake ... " 

One would hope that's nothing like as bad as it looks, and that the main sea wall has done its duty. It was built for those 1-in-100-years storms that we now seem to get more than once a year.

[a-driver]

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. 

[Oxonhutch]

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. 

Ouch, that is not good.