Overnight engineering work on the railway between Dawlish and Holcombe is set to begin on Monday 24 January.

It comes as part of a £37.4m resilience project to build a 209m extension to the rockfall shelter north of Parsons Tunnel.

Work had recently begun on this section of the railway, but engineers found that the ground was not safe enough to do 'piling work' (putting posts into the ground for support) from the side - and so they're now going to do it using a specialist rig from the track instead.

Network Rail Western Route and Strategic Operations Director Mike Gallop said: "The worksite at Parsons Tunnel is in a difficult location, surrounded by sheer cliffs, the sea and a tunnel.

"While it is disappointing to need to close the railway overnight for this period, the safety of those working on the project and our passengers is paramount and we have concluded the piling for this project is most safely achieved by using a rail-mounted piling machine.

"I would like to thank passengers for their patience and understanding while we complete this important work that once complete, will help protect trains against falling rocks along this vital stretch of railway."

Construction will take eight weeks and take place every Monday and Thursday night.

The railway line between Exeter St Davids and Teignmouth will be closed at night until Thursday 17 March, but regular services will not be affected.

The sleeper service between London Paddington and Penzance will not be running on the two weekdays specified, however, and the 10.02pm service from Paddington to Newton Abbot via Bath and Bristol will terminate at Exeter St Davids.

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