UK storm Babet reignites calls to revive Okehampton-Bere Alston line
For the second time in two weeks, the British Isles have been ravaged by an extreme weather event, that triggered ‘red – danger to life’ warnings. In the wake of storm Babet, which unleashed its fury across the UK, leaving a trail of destruction, the nation’s rail network suffered significant disruptions. Scotland and the West Country bore the brunt of the chaos, with Dawlish on the Devon and Cornwall main line once again becoming an epicentre of rail woes. This time, the storm’s colossal waves breached the newly constructed sea wall, inundating the engines of two Inter City Express trains, wiping out services.
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Dream on. £100s of millions for something only used for a few hours occasionally. Any sense of a proper approach to risk management jettisoned. Railways, like motorways and airports, get shut for hours for all sorts of reasons. Stuff happens, just get over it. Life goes on.
It’s the design of the trains Bimode engines that’s the fault heavy rain has caused problems with this unit.
Simple solution is to once again design and build British made trains and not the cheap rubbish from Hitachi, you get what you pay for! Of the few 4car HST units, the local trains and a steam locomotive all got through the severe storm no problem. I’m very much in support of reconnecting local services with disused lines in order to reduce our carbon footprint however, we have to ensure it’s affordable to travel and use for the paying public.
Simple solution is to once again design and build British made trains and not the cheap rubbish from Hitachi, you get what you pay for! Of the few 4car HST units, the local trains and a steam locomotive all got through the severe storm no problem. I’m very much in support of reconnecting local services with disused lines in order to reduce our carbon footprint however, we have to ensure it’s affordable to travel and use for the paying public.
With the newly predicted 5m/16ft sea level rise due to the Antarctic western shelf melting, the Dawlish route could be out of use anyway by the end of the century. RW