Minister opens station and unveils sea wall plaque

Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper opens the new station

Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper has opened a new railway station at Marsh Barton in Exeter.

The £16m station should have been up and running in 2022, but the project faced issues with building supplies and bad weather.

He also unveiled a plaque in Dawlish to mark the completion of the sea wall. 

The £82m project aims to protect the line from extreme weather after the track was destroyed by storms in 2014.

The new sea wall is opened by the minister with help from some local schoolchildren

Mark Harper meets engineers at Dawlish on what he called the "vital rail route"

The station at Marsh Barton includes a new pedestrian and cycle bridge which opened in April.

It will be served by hourly Great Western Railway services from Tuesday between Paignton and Exmouth, with half-hourly services at peak times.

Devon County Councillor Andrea Davis, cabinet member for climate change, environment and transport, said: "Today's a fantastic day.

"There have been challenges getting to this point.

"But what we've got now is this amazing station, which is available for the residents of the south west to get into Exeter; great connectivity for Marsh Barton Trading Estate, the hospital and the county council.

"We are really delighted this day has come."

It follows the opening of new stations at Newcourt and Cranbrook, as well as the opening of the Dartmoor Line between Exeter and Okehampton.

The railway at Dawlsh was destroyed by storms in 2014

The new sea wall includes a promenade

In February 2014, rail passengers to and from Cornwall and most of Devon were left without a connection to the national network after the storms left the line at Dawlish dangling in the air.

The line was reopened two months later and was followed by major work on the sea wall.

The work at Dawlish includes a new promenade and Network Rail is building a new footbridge with lifts at Dawlish Station.

Further cliff protection work including a rockfall shelter at Holcombe, along the coast from Dawlish, is continuing.

Michelle Handforth, regional managing director of Network Rail’s Wales and Western Region, said the sea wall would "protect the railway line and town of Dawlish for generations to come".

Mr Harper said he was "delighted" at the "completion of two major projects" which he said were on a "vital rail route for passengers in the South West".

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