Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average duration has been of full closures of the rail line between Newton Abbot and Dawlish for planned works in the latest period for which data is available.

During the 2025-26 Financial Year, there were planned closures for two midweek nights during the last week of February, for 6 hours each night. On the first weekend in March, there was a planned closure for 52 hours. On the second weekend in March, there was a planned closure for 10 hours. All other access required for maintenance of our infrastructure is carried out during ‘rules of the route possessions’ when no trains are running, to avoid impact to train operators.