The giant WaveWalker machine, which has towered over Dawlish seafront since Sunday, is now starting work on the new sea wall.

The huge piece of marine engineering kit, which looks at first sight like an oil rig, will be used to build the sea-facing part of the second section of wall, stretching from the railway station to the coastguard breakwater to the east.

It's the only one of its kind in Europe and has never before been used in work to maintain the UK's rail network.

The machine can operate safely in high tidal conditions that would otherwise make sea-facing work difficult.

Launching the second stage of the £80 million sea wall project this morning (Tuesday, November 10), Network Rail and its contractors BAM Nuttall explained that the WaveWalker will be putting steel rods into the ground to create a strong base for the sea wall.

How does the Wavewalker move?

Thanks to its eight moving legs, the machine is able to 'walk' across the sea bed sideways like a crab.

Four legs go down and lift the deck out of the water; it then slides across and the other four legs go down and take the weight as the first four are retracted.

It progresses very slowly, around 20 metres in an hour, with each move covering four metres.

BAM Nuttall say the piling method they have chosen is one of the quietest types, with a rotary motor spinning the piles at speed and pushing them down. Noise levels will be monitored carefully throughout the operation.

How long will the work take?

The WaveWalker will be on-site for three months with a crew of eight carrying out this piling work, with this section of the new sea wall taking around two years to complete.

When finished, the 415-metre section of sea wall will be higher than the existing wall, with a curved edge to send waves back towards the sea.

It will have a high-level promenade, wider and safer than the existing one, giving pedestrian access to the beach and an accessible station footbridge with lifts.

An information point is being set up, initially near Dawlish Station but with the ability to move around, to keep the public informed about the work.

Watch my video interview with Yan Sayles, Senior Agent, BAM Nuttall, to hear more about the WaveWalker.

And for more background to the project, and an interview with the head of communications from the Network Rail South West Resilience Programme, follow this link Simon Masters interview