The vulnerability of Britain's coastal railways

Available for over a year

It is a year since part of the sea wall at Dawlish in Devon was destroyed by a storm, severing the railway line that runs along that stretch of coast. The tracks were left hanging in mid-air and it was two months before the line was able to reopen. Britain has many miles of coastal railways; picturesque but always vulnerable to the immense power of the sea. Nick Higham reports from one of those scenic lines, in Cumbria.