Safety work closes Liskeard to Looe branch line

The Liskeard to Looe branch line will be closed during New Year until the track can be safety checked by a team of specialised divers.

The branch line has been closed since Saturday 20th December because of floodwater although a replacement minibus service has been in operation.

The dive team arrived on site on Monday 22nd December but Network Rail said the water was still too deep and running too fast for the divers to be able to safely carry out the necessary inspections.

A Network Rail spokesperson said "The earliest that a dive team can attend the area again will be on Sunday 4 January. The line will remain closed until the divers have been able to check that it's safe to open."

Lesley Winfield has just moved with her family to Looe.

"We were hoping to use the branch line but we've heard it's not that reliable and so he (her son) can't rely on it to get to his lectures so he has had to pay for accommodation and live there instead," she said.

"It is very costly, a lot more costly than catching a train.

"If he needs to get to a lecture and he can't, he's scuppered really, so we can't take the risk," she said.

Looe resident Larry Shaw said "My son is coming down from Saltash tomorrow and he's had to make alternative arrangements

"They've put public transport on to cover the trains but it's become a problem down here, you've only got to get a high tide and the tracks the first thing to flood.

"And it is Christmas so I don't think anybody would have been working," he said.

Cornwall Councillor for Looe East and Deviock Mark Gibbons said "The primary concern here is public safety we do have flooding on the line periodically and everybody is aware of this.

"The important thing to the people of Looe is not to try to blame when these things happen because obviously it's beyond our control but to make sure they are well managed and looked after as passengers and that businesses don't suffer," he said.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: The line was shut once the water levels reached the closure marks on the bridges and viaducts along the route in the early hours of Saturday morning (20th December).

"In order to reopen the line, specialist divers are required to inspect the lower part of the structures to ensure they haven't been affected by scour.

"We're sorry for the disruption to journeys. Road replacement transport is in place and passengers are advised to check with National Rail Enquiries or Great Western Railway for details of these alternative travel arrangements."

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