Extract from PMQs: Dawlish - Jan 30

Q13. Next week marks five years since the train line at Dawlish was washed away in storms. Five years on, that train line remains fragile. We need money, not more press releases. Can the Prime Minister help to unblock the £300 million upgrade that the Department for Transport is sitting on and use the anniversary next week to help the south-west—Plymouth and the rest of the far south-west—to keep our train line open and stop it being fragile and precarious?[908911]

Obviously, passengers expect better. I understand from the Department for Transport that the first phase of work to protect the sea wall at Dawlish began in November, with essential repairs to the breakwaters. That is part of the £15 million wider investment to make the railway at Dawlish and Teignmouth more resilient to extreme weather. I reassure the hon. Gentleman that world-leading engineers have been carrying out the detailed ground investigations to develop a long-term solution to protect the railway in a way that minimises disruption for passengers. Network Rail will soon be reporting on how it will deliver this solution. I am clear that delivering this improvement to the south-west’s transport infrastructure is a national priority. It is essential for unlocking the region’s economic prosperity and jobs, and that is why we are giving it the focus that we are.