GWR has asked passengers to check their journeys ahead of travelling as work begins on the railway between Exeter and Plymouth this weekend

Network Rail will begin the work this weekend and will continue for every weekend throughout February and will mean that train services will need to be altered with replacement buses running in order to keep passengers on the move.

Work will be carried out on the tracks as well as platform refurbishments at Dawlish station which will affect services between Exeter St Davids and Plymouth.

The work comes as part of the huge programme put in place following the impact of the devastating 2014 storm which significantly damaged the railway at Dawlish eight years ago.

In May 2019 construction began on the first section of the new larger sea wall giving the Dawlish coastline a robust transformation. The impressive £80m programme has been funded by the Department for Transport and will also see an accessible station footbridge with lifts installed at Dawlish which is set to be completed during 2023. The vast project will bring protection for both the town and the railway from rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions in the future.

Due to the continuing works, buses will need to replace trains between Exeter St Davids and Plymouth for all weekends in February and will also see non-stop buses running between Tiverton Parkway and Plymouth.

Further engineering works in Devon will also impact services in the area during this time, these include:

• Exeter St Davids to Exeter Central on Sunday the 6th of February
• Newton Abbot to Paignton over the weekend of the 12th and 13th of February
• Crediton to Barnstaple/Okehampton from Saturday the 19th to Sunday the 27th of February.

Great Western Railway (GWR) is advising anyone intending to travel through this period to plan their travel ahead and also to check journey times before travelling.

Mark Chorley, GWR Regional Station Manager, West, said: “This work is important to ensure we can continue to maintain and improve reliability and we thank customers for their patience in advance.

“We have been working hard to provide as many replacement buses as we can to ensure people can continue to travel confidently and safely. However, we strongly recommend our customers check their times carefully before travelling to ensure a smooth journey with us.”

Services will operate where the railway lines remain open but train times will see changes in order to allow for easy connections onto replacement buses.

Long-distance services from London Paddington into the southwest will be running as far as Exeter St Davids. Customers travelling to stations in Plymouth or Cornwall will need to change at Tiverton Parkway and use direct replacement buses to Plymouth.

Phil Morton, Network Rail Project Manager, said: “We would like to thank passengers and local residents in advance for their patience and understanding while we make these important upgrades.

“In particular, the improvements we are making to the platforms at Dawlish station will make it safer and easier for passengers to step onto and off trains.”

Throughout the pandemic, GWR has been providing rail services and has worked hard to make sure that travelling by train is as safe as possible. The rail operator has increased cleaning regimes and uses virucidal spray, put extra staff in place at major stations to offer support and guidance, they have also put processes such as restricting reservation numbers to help keep customers safely distanced where possible.