Flooding from heavy rain closes rail line

Great Western Railway said the railway between Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple has been closed

A rail line in Devon has been closed due to flooding after heavy rain.

Great Western Railway (GWR) said services between Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple had been cancelled and the disruption was expected to last until Tuesday.

The closure follows additional suspensions affecting the line between Crediton and Barnstaple last week, again caused by flooding.

GWR said Network Rail detected water levels exceeding its threshold for triggering an automatic closure of three bridges and viaducts for the "safety of all customers".

The water level on 13 November showing the progression of the rising water

A spokesperson for Network Rail said on Monday at about 16:30 GMT water levels had fallen about 10cm (4in) since Sunday afternoon.

They added: "There are three bridges along this route where the water level must recede before the line can reopen and at the moment, the levels at one of them are still too high to run trains.

"The line can only reopen once the water is back beneath [a] closure marker, after which we'll need to carry out an inspection."

GWR said the safety of customers was its top priority and it would restore services as soon as it was safe to do so.

"Rail replacement transport is in operation today and will be in place on Monday," GWR added.

Services from Exeter St Davids and Exeter Central to Okehampton are running, the company added.

It apologised for the disruption and urged passengers to only travel if necessary.