Parsons Tunnel to Teignmouth Resilience Project
Phase 5 of the South West Rail Resilience programme covers the 1.8km section of railway running along the coastline from Parson’s Tunnel to Teignmouth.
Back in 2020, we carried out a second round of consultation on our proposals to realign the railway to make room for corrective measures to stabilise the cliffs. You can find the background to these proposals and the feedback we received below.
In light of this feedback, we committed to fully reviewing the scheme and carrying out further detailed investigations to inform our proposals. Since our last update to you in July 2021, we have been undertaking further ground investigation works in the local area to gain the insight we need.
We are working hard to find a solution that reduces the impact on the beaches between Holcombe and Teignmouth but still provides a high level of resilience for the railway. This includes an examination of what could be done if we leave the railway where it is. We are also working to reduce carbon and wider environmental impact.
Cliff monitoring and surveys
Look out for us as we work with RSK and Jacobs to install monitoring equipment which will allow us to gain an even more detailed understanding of the cliffs.
You will see our equipment at Eastcliff Park and we will also be requesting access to properties and land that run along the cliff tops. The monitoring and investigation that we are doing includes groundwater monitoring, flow monitoring of perennial (permanent) and ephemeral (intermittent) streams, rock anchor pull-out tests, trial boreholes to determine the best ways to obtain samples up to 65 metres in depth, rope access surveys to look at discontinuities and other geological features and a CCTV survey of the track drainage system.
Any future proposal is, as has always been the case, subject to funding and any consents that may be required. Once we have decided on a way forward we will come back out to engage with the community and explain our proposals.
Community engagement sessions
While there are no firm proposals for Parson’s Tunnel to Teignmouth as yet, we are committed to keeping everyone informed as we develop our new approach.
We held a number of short presentations in Holcombe and Teignmouth in November 2022 to update the community on our analysis and investigations so far. The information presented at those sessions is available to download below.
Contact us
If you have any questions about the plans, you can send us an email at: SouthWestRRP@networkrail.co.uk
You can also visit our contact us page, call our 24-hour national helpline on 03457 11 41 41 or you can contact us on Twitter at @SouthWestRRP