MOVE RAIL LINE AWAY FROM SEA

TRANSPORT Secretary Ruth Kelly came under pressure yesterday to consider diverting a Westcountry mainline rail service away from the coast if it is upgraded to become a high-speed route.

Campaigners demanded upgrades to the line between Dawlish and Teignmouth where bad weather can often hold up services.

Last month, the WMN revealed that Network Rail had ruled out any changes to the route for the next 30 years at least, and possibly up to 50.

But the Penzance-Paddington mainline is also under consideration to become a 186mph “super route”, slashing journey times to the capital.

In the Commons yesterday, St Ives MP Andrew George insisted that any plans to upgrade the line should include considering re-routing it from the seafront.

He said that when “rising sea levels and high spring tides coincide with strong easterlies, the line always becomes threatened”.

Ms Kelly confirmed that Network Rail was looking at the problem as part of a “wide-ranging study” into the viability of high-speed lines.

“The fact is Network Rail need to be in a position over the next year or so to understand where rail is going to be most intensively used and it's for that reason that they are doing a widespread study of where there might be a need for new lines in the future, including whether those might be high-speed.”

But she warned any changes were many years off: “It takes a long time between thinking about and planning for a new line and construction of a new line.”

However, Mr George said last night that the Minister should step in to ensure services were not disrupted in the future. “The Transport Secretary cannot play King Canute with rising sea levels,” he said. “It is all very well passing the buck to Network Rail but it is far better to plan for the future rather than waiting for the future to catch up with the present.

“Passengers west of Dawlish need to be reassured that a proper assessment of the danger to the line is made and acted upon.”

In June, Network Rail announced a study into the potential for new lines to accommodate future growth on the network. The Penzance-Paddington line is one of five key rail routes under consideration after a 40 per cent increase over a decade in passengers using trains.

If the proposals go ahead, it is hoped to have new tracks laid by 2025. Most would be similar to those built in France to carry the high-speed TGV network.

At the moment, the main rail route through Devon and Cornwall is restricted to a speed of around 60mph, with a 110mph section between Reading and Paddington. More than an hour could be shaved off the five-and-a-half- hour journey time to London if the route is chosen for expansion.

But campaigners insist that the route will need to be diverted. Roger Creagh-Osborne, of campaign group Transport 2000 in Plymouth and Cornwall, said: “There is a strong scientific case to say that a rise in sea levels of more than 20cm is very likely in the next 100 years. If we are faced with that sort of significantly greater problem, it is going to have to go on to the agenda for Network Rail to consider.”