Last week at the Transport Select Committee, I challenged the Government on its decision to leave the South West Rail Resilience Programme out of the latest Spending Review.
It is clear that significant progress was made under the previous Conservative Government, which delivered vital investment following the 2014 storms. Although over £165 million was invested in the South West Rail Resilience Programme, Labour still refuses to commit to funding for the final stage of the project.
Whilst I welcome the Government’s confirmation that these cliffs will continue to be monitored and that remediation proposals will come forward in due course, freak weather events, like those we saw in 2014, demand real investment, not just monitoring.
The Dawlish line remains vulnerable, and I’ll keep pressing for the long-term funding our region needs.
