Three branch lines in south west England will stay closed until further notice, Network Rail has warned, because floodwater has put structures at risk. Trains have not run between Exeter and Okehampton or Barnstaple since the most recent storms, while the Looe Valley Line has not seen trains since the end of last year.

Although work to repair visible damage such as washed-away ballast was completed on the Barnstaple and Okehampton routes earlier this week, specialist divers must now inspect submerged parts of structures for possible damage, and Network Rail said the water is still too high and flowing too fast for this to be done safely. Meanwhile, repairs to water damage are currently under way on the Looe branch.

Replacement buses are running on all three routes, but the road links to Okehampton and Barnstaple are ‘limited’ and not all intermediate stations are being served.

Daryn McCombe is director of performance and train service delivery for GWR and director of network operations at Network Rail’s Western route. He said: ‘We’re really sorry for the continued disruption on these lines following Storm Chandra last week.

‘GWR and Network Rail teams have been working tirelessly to safely keep customers moving wherever possible. We've been able to fix the problems we can see, but it's really important to make sure that underwater structures remain sound and it's not safe for divers to enter the water yet.

‘We're working with our weather forecasting teams and monitoring the river levels so that the divers can enter the water as soon as conditions allow. Please continue to check gwr.com for the latest updates.’