Network Rail has submitted plans to Teignbridge District Council for the remainder of the new £80 million Dawlish sea wall, which will help to protect the vital rail link to the South West from rising sea levels and extreme weather for the next 100 years. Work on the first section of the wall (at Marine Parade) is expected to be completed this summer.

Plans for section two, which will run for 415m (between Coastguards and Colonnade breakwaters), have now been submitted, allowing the public to view the plans and comment on them before a decision is made.

They include a new ‘accessible’ footbridge at the station and a wider promenade that retains the views of the coast — a feature that the area is famous for.

Mike Gallop, Network Rail’s Western route director, said: “We have been working tirelessly to protect this vital rail artery for Devon and Cornwall, while considering the impact of our work on the local community.

“We can see from the work progressing at Marine Parade that the new sea wall is doing its job — returning the waves to the sea and reducing the amount of water and spray reaching the tracks. Building the second section will complete this project, which the Government has funded to provide resilience for the railway through Dawlish.”

Andrea Davis, chairman of the Peninsula Rail Task Force, said: “Protecting this line and making it resilient has been the number-one priority for the task force ever since we started, following the storm damage in 2014.

“We are absolutely committed to ensuring that our network can withstand the weather — and that people can travel across the peninsula safely and reliably. We are keen to work with the local community to ensure that their concerns are addressed, while taking account of the needs of the wider peninsula.”