Rail line wil be lost to sea

U.K. – The Government was last night urged to begin planning for a new rail line to the Westcountry – as it emerged the Met Office had warned that climate change could make parts of the existing main line “unsustainable”.

Anthony Steen, Conservative MP for Totnes, said Cornwall and much of Devon could be cut off from the national rail network for months on end unless ministers acted now to plan for an alternative line bypassing the vulnerable Dawlish sea wall in Devon, where rail closures are already frequent.

Mr Steen said he had received a Met Office briefing suggesting rising sea levels and increasing storm frequency resulting from climate change would eventually make it impossible to keep the stretch of line open.

“The Met Office had no doubt that the line was unsustainable in the next 50-100 years and that alternative plans should be considered now,” he said.

Western Morning News