Network Rail and Great Western Railway are advising passengers in Devon and Cornwall that heavy flooding will affect train travel in the region into the early part of next week (commencing Monday 2 February) as the area continues to experience flooding from Storm Chandra, with further yellow weather warnings for heavy rain in place until Saturday morning (31 January).
As a result, the following lines will be closed into the start of next week:
• Exeter St Davids - Barnstaple
• Exeter St Davids - Okehampton (via Crediton)
• Liskeard - Looe
• Par - Newquay
Bus replacement services are operating between Par and Newquay, and Liskeard and Looe and customers should check before they travel.
Poor road conditions mean bus replacement services cannot be provided on the route between Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple/Okehampton and customers are advised not to travel.
For the latest information and to check your journey visit: https://www.gwr.com/travel-information/travel-updates/check-your-journey.
Engineers have inspected the Barnstaple and Okehampton lines in Devon and found multiple areas where the ballast (the stones that support the track) has been washed away by the force of the flood water. In order to run trains again, Network Rail needs to rebuild these parts of the line by bringing in more ballast and compacting it to make a stable surface.
Before the lines can reopen, specialist divers need to carry out underwater inspections of the structures along the route – such as bridges and viaducts – to make sure the water hasn’t caused any damage. The divers can only enter the water once the levels have dropped for safety reasons.
Further heavy rain is forecast for the area into Saturday morning, which will have an impact on how quickly the work to restore and inspect these lines can be completed.
Simon Gillibrand, Network Rail’s Western route operations director, said: “Travel in Devon and Cornwall will continue to be disrupted into the first week of February because of the widespread flooding in the region following back-to-back storms.
“Four lines remain closed and are not expected to open until the early part of next week, however with more rain on the way we will have to continue monitoring water levels before full inspections of these lines can be completed. We’re really sorry for the disruption this is causing for passengers.
“Our teams are on the ground around the clock, working as quickly as we safely can to repair the storm damage so we can reopen these routes as soon as we can. We’d like to thank passengers for their patience and understanding.
“Please continue to check before travelling for the latest updates.”
GWR managing director, Mark Hopwood, said: "If you've been travelling with us and affected by this continuing disruption due to the storms, I'd like to apologise. We do hope to get services up and running as quickly as possible.
"The storms have however caused some damage to the railway infrastructure and some of which, such as these vital branch lines, continue to be under water.
“We need the water levels to subside before our friends at Network Rail can check the tracks and make any repairs as necessary."
“Until then we will keep you moving on road replacement transport where we can.”
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