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| Network Rail considers Dawlish alternative route | Network Rail considers Dawlish alternative route |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A possible alternative railway route to the storm-stricken Dawlish line has been identified by senior rail planners, BBC News can reveal. | A possible alternative railway route to the storm-stricken Dawlish line has been identified by senior rail planners, BBC News can reveal. |
| The route would head from Okehampton to Plymouth via Tavistock and go through parts of the Dartmoor National Park. | The route would head from Okehampton to Plymouth via Tavistock and go through parts of the Dartmoor National Park. |
| Network Rail is considering an inland route as a back-up to the Dawlish line, which was badly damaged by storms last week. | Network Rail is considering an inland route as a back-up to the Dawlish line, which was badly damaged by storms last week. |
| The plans are thought to be at a very early stage. | The plans are thought to be at a very early stage. |
| Last year, Network Rail conducted an outline study and concluded it would cost hundreds of millions of pounds to open the secondary route. | Last year, Network Rail conducted an outline study and concluded it would cost hundreds of millions of pounds to open the secondary route. |
| Three alternatives have been discussed locally over the years, two of them in south Devon including the Teign Valley route, via Christow and Heathfield, and the so-called Dawlish Avoiding Line, which was promoted in the 1930s but was never built. | Three alternatives have been discussed locally over the years, two of them in south Devon including the Teign Valley route, via Christow and Heathfield, and the so-called Dawlish Avoiding Line, which was promoted in the 1930s but was never built. |
| The route would have passed inland behind Teignmouth and Dawlish rather than along the coast like the current line. | The route would have passed inland behind Teignmouth and Dawlish rather than along the coast like the current line. |
| However, Network Rail is only considering the Okehampton-Tavistock-Plymouth route as a likely candidate. | However, Network Rail is only considering the Okehampton-Tavistock-Plymouth route as a likely candidate. |
| Trains can already run to Meldon, west of Okehampton, on a freight line and there are currently plans to reopen a stretch of line connecting Tavistock southwards to Bere Alston. | Trains can already run to Meldon, west of Okehampton, on a freight line and there are currently plans to reopen a stretch of line connecting Tavistock southwards to Bere Alston. |
| The route Network Rail is now openly discussing is the stretch between Meldon and Tavistock. | The route Network Rail is now openly discussing is the stretch between Meldon and Tavistock. |
| Bill Hitchins, chairman of Dartmoor National Park Authority, said: "We have not seen any kind of proposal to discuss, much less vote on. | |
| "I'm sure we would be only too pleased to be involved in any discussions. | |
| "Personally, I have always felt that it (the line) should not have been closed, and it should not have been developed in the way it has been developed." |