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| Dawlish's storm-damaged railway line to reopen | Dawlish's storm-damaged railway line to reopen |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The main railway line through Dawlish in Devon will reopen to passengers later after part of the track was destroyed during winter storms. | The main railway line through Dawlish in Devon will reopen to passengers later after part of the track was destroyed during winter storms. |
| The rail track was swept away along with part of the sea wall in early February, cutting off the service linking Cornwall and much of Devon with the rest of the UK. | The rail track was swept away along with part of the sea wall in early February, cutting off the service linking Cornwall and much of Devon with the rest of the UK. |
| A 300-strong Network Rail team has rebuilt the track at a cost of £35m. | A 300-strong Network Rail team has rebuilt the track at a cost of £35m. |
| Prime Minister David Cameron hailed the reopening as "a great day". | Prime Minister David Cameron hailed the reopening as "a great day". |
| The first passenger train is likely to be the 05:34 BST from Exeter to Paignton. | The first passenger train is likely to be the 05:34 BST from Exeter to Paignton. |
| The sea wall of the coast-hugging line at Dawlish was breached and the line badly damaged on 5 February. | The sea wall of the coast-hugging line at Dawlish was breached and the line badly damaged on 5 February. |
| Repair work was under way before being hampered by another severe storm on the night of February 14 when huge waves damaged a line of shipping containers forming a breakwater and punched a new hole in the sea wall. | Repair work was under way before being hampered by another severe storm on the night of February 14 when huge waves damaged a line of shipping containers forming a breakwater and punched a new hole in the sea wall. |
| 'Overcome every obstacle' | 'Overcome every obstacle' |
| Then on 4 March, engineers discovered 25,000 tonnes of a cliff face near Teignmouth just south of Dawlish had sheared away above the line. | |
| It resulted in water jets being used to pummel the cliff face to create a controlled landslide. | It resulted in water jets being used to pummel the cliff face to create a controlled landslide. |
| Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne said: "Our army of engineers has done an amazing job of putting back together a railway that was ravaged by the elements. | Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne said: "Our army of engineers has done an amazing job of putting back together a railway that was ravaged by the elements. |
| "They have overcome every obstacle thrown at them, winning many battles along the way to restore this critical piece of the network, ahead of schedule, and in time for the Easter holidays." | "They have overcome every obstacle thrown at them, winning many battles along the way to restore this critical piece of the network, ahead of schedule, and in time for the Easter holidays." |
| He thanked "hugely supportive and patient" local communities and businesses. | He thanked "hugely supportive and patient" local communities and businesses. |
| Cornwall's tourism industry lost millions of pounds as a result of the disruption and flooding, according to the local enterprise partnership. | Cornwall's tourism industry lost millions of pounds as a result of the disruption and flooding, according to the local enterprise partnership. |
| Mr Cameron said: "This is a great day for the hard-working people of Dawlish, and for businesses and commuters across the South West whose lives have been turned upside down by the devastating loss of their train line." | Mr Cameron said: "This is a great day for the hard-working people of Dawlish, and for businesses and commuters across the South West whose lives have been turned upside down by the devastating loss of their train line." |
| Network Rail is now looking at creating a new inland route as a back-up to the Dawlish line. | Network Rail is now looking at creating a new inland route as a back-up to the Dawlish line. |