Devon and Cornwall rail passengers hit with further disruption after floods

Passengers in Devon and Cornwall are expected to face continued travel disruption as engineers work to fix flooding damage.

Three branch lines in Devon and Cornwall will remain closed until further notice to allow for safety inspections following last week’s storms.

The lines currently closed include: Exeter St Davids - Barnstaple, Exeter St Davids - Okehampton, and Liskeard - Looe.

Back-to-back storms caused heavy flooding in the region last week, with poor road conditions even preventing rail replacement buses from running immediately after the floods.

Engineers found multiple areas where the ballast (the stones that support the track) had been washed away by the force of the floodwater on the Barnstaple and Okehampton lines in Devon.

While engineers completed work to repair visible damage to the track this week, specialist dive teams now need to inspect submerged structures along the routes – including bridges and viaducts – to make sure the water hasn’t caused any further damage.

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However, the latest assessment has shown that the water is still too high and flowing too fast for divers to do this safely.

A rail replacement bus service is now in operation between Exeter St Davids and Okehampton, calling at Exeter St Davids and Okehampton only, as well as another service operating between Liskeard and Looe.

There is also a limited hourly return coach service between Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple.

Daryn McCombe, director of network operations at Network Rail’s Western route, said they are “really sorry” for the continued disruption.

"Great Western Railway and Network Rail teams have been working tirelessly to safely keep customers moving wherever possible. We've been able to fix the problems we can see, but it's really important to make sure that underwater structures remain sound, and it's not safe for divers to enter the water yet.

"We're working with our weather forecasting teams and monitoring the river levels so that the divers can enter the water as soon as conditions allow. Please continue to check gwr.com for the latest updates.”

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