randyrippley
Established Member
- Joined
- 21 Feb 2016
- Messages
- 5,172
thats not really true....you can defend exposed lines such as Dawlish with enhanced protection, but wetland lines at or below sea level like you have in Somerset, Lancashire and the fens cannot realistically be protected against rising sea levels.Ultimately, it isn't beyond Network Rail to protect infrastructure when the time comes, however some routes near the sea could become costly to maintain, especially with natural sea erosion, even ignoring the effects of rising sea levels.............
For those areas you cannot protect the railways in isolation: for instance in Somerset you would need to protect all of the levels, and the only way to do that would be to impound Bridgwater Bay and commission massive pumping capability. To protect the Lancashire wetlands you'd need a project equivalent to the Dutch Zuider Zee reclamations, with a sea barrier stretching from somewhere around Formby to Barrow-in-Furness. The pumping capacity required would be overwhelming, though I guess you could get a fair amount of tidal energy out of it. You'd also have to question whether the resources exist to provide enough concrete to build the barrier