Seven years ago today, Dawlish made international headlines when a massive storm destroyed the sea wall and left part of the railway track suspended above the wreckage.

Today, Network Rail is looking back at the events of February 2014 and the huge efforts of its 'Orange Army' to repair the track and re-establish the rail link to the rest of the south-west.

The company is also charting the progress of the £80 million project to build a new sea wall to protect the railway, and the town, from future storm damage.

The work to build the sea wall began in May 2019 and the first section, running for 360 metres along Marine Parade west of Dawlish station, was finished last July.

Network Rail has supplied photos taken during the construction of the sea wall, showing its curved panels deflecting high waves back out to sea.

Work on the second section of the sea wall began in November 2020 and has once again drawn media and public attention to Dawlish through the involvement of the huge WaveWalker machine – an eight-legged jack-up barge with a mechanism enabling it to 'walk' across the sea bed.

This machine is being used to instal the piling work on the sea-facing side of the foundations of the tidal defences.

The second section will stretch for 415 metres from the Coastguard breakwater east of Dawlish station to the Colonnade breakwater, and will link up with the first section at Marine Parade.

The piling work involving the WaveWalker is due to be completed on February 20, and the rest of the work is scheduled to finish by the start of 2023. This part of the sea wall will also include improved access at Dawlish station and a wider, safer promenade and pedestrian access to the beach.

Alison Foden, Mayor of Dawlish, said: "This work is vitally important for Dawlish. We are a seaside town and the railway is one of our unique selling points and is in our history from when Isambard Kingdom Brunel built this beautiful railway.

"The progress Network Rail has made, particularly with the completion of the first section of new sea wall, is brilliant. We now have a real sea wall promenade and people love coming down here."

Chris Pearce, Network Rail's interim Western route director, said: "We are really pleased with the progress we have made in Dawlish. Many will remember the significant damage to the railway in 2014 and the impact it had on Dawlish and the wider south west, and the work we are continuing to do in Dawlish will protect the town and region for at least the next 100 years.

"It has been great to see the interest of the local community in our project – particularly the presence of the Wavewalker – which has ensured we've managed to continue with the piling at the sea wall despite some of the stormy weather we've recently experienced."

Chris Heaton-Harris, Rail Minister, said: "The damage to the sea wall in Dawlish caused shockwaves across the country back in 2014, and it has been a huge feat of engineering to get the new structure to where it is today.

"I have seen for myself the incredible work that has gone into the first phase of the sea wall, and once completed our investment will provide a resilient railway for generations to come."

Councillor Andrea Davis, Chair of Peninsula Rail Task Force, said: "For the people of Dawlish, the completed first section of new sea wall and work that is ongoing really does enhance the area, gives that reassurance about protection for the next 100 years and means Dawlish can continue to be a vibrant community.

"There are two million people across the south west peninsula who would be adversely affected if the railway was damaged again by extreme weather, and this is why the work Network Rail is doing is so important."

Anne Marie Morris, MP for Newton Abbot, said: "This project is mission critical, not just for Dawlish but for the wider communities across the south west. The progress Network Rail has made is phenomenal and I've been incredibly impressed."