Devon mud-hit railway line reopens

The line between Newton Abbot and Exeter has been hit by landslips

The railway line which connects Devon and Cornwall to the rest of England has reopened after a landslip threatened the track.

Network Rail has reopened the westbound track which was closed at Teignmouth.

It said the second track along the stretch, closed for nearly a week after heavy rain, was expected to reopen by 05:00 GMT on Saturday.

It said services would be "very limited" and travellers should check which services were running.

Between 1,000 and 1,500 tonnes of mud and rock is being removed from the site between Newton Abbot and Exeter.

Investment call

Passengers had to take rail replacement buses while the lines were blocked.

There have also been about 13 other minor landslips in the same area.

Leader of Plymouth City Council, Tudor Evans, is calling for investment from the government to keep the roads and rail network open.

He is co-ordinating a letter from Cornwall, Devon and Somerset council leaders and the mayor of Torbay.

He said: "I'm not an unreasonable man, I understand we were dealing with extreme weather this time, but this isn't a new issue and flooding happens on an all-too-frequent basis."

Network Rail said it could be another two weeks before rail services were completely back to normal.

Full details of affected services are on the National Rail website.