Riviera Line

The Riviera Line is the railway between the city of Exeter, towns Dawlish and Teignmouth, and the English Riviera resorts of Torbay in Devon, England. Its tracks are shared with the Exeter to Plymouth Line along the South Devon sea wall. It is part of the Network Rail Route 12 (Reading to Penzance). The line from Exeter to Teignmouth was opened by the South Devon Railway Company on 30 May 1846 and was extended to Newton Abbot on 30 December 1846. After the company had completed its main line to Plymouth, it opened a branch from Newton Abbot to Torquay (the present Torre railway station) on 18 December 1848. Nine years later, this was extended as the independent Dartmouth and Torbay Railway to Paignton on 2 August 1859. These lines were built as single-track, 7 ft (2,134 mm) broad gauge railways by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. They were designed for atmospheric power and, although this was only used from 13 September 1847 until 9 September 1848, the remains of several of the South Devon Railway engine houses used for the stationary engines can still be seen by the side of the line. The track was converted to standard gauge on 21 May 1892. Double track was laid in sections over a period of several years, requiring the widening or removal of several tunnels near Teignmouth.