It's one of the most beautiful lines in the country and a remarkable feat of engineering and it would be a great shame to lose it. I fear for it though. Given climate change storms like we've been experiencing are going to be frequent and regular events in future. Short of a massive breakwater, that must make the Dawlish line untenable in the long term.
A chap from Network Rail was on the News this morning saying putting in a detour route would cost £400 - 500 million and they don't own the land. So neither a cheap or a quick option.
A repair is the only short/mid term option. Though with more and worse storms forecast I think '6 weeks' window to repair the breech is highly optimistic ...
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