Here are the first pictures of the restoration effort on the Dawlish railway line, parts of which were destroyed by powerful storms and waves in January and February.

The railway line connects Devon and Cornwall to the rest of the UK.

Image caption Network Rail has granted access for the first time to the damaged areas of Dawlish and their work to repair the line

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption BBC's Richard Westcott: "Five thousands tonnes of concrete will shore up the new sea wall"

Image caption These men are working to rebuild the parapet wall that holds the track ballast in place

Image caption Around one-third of a mile (500m) of Smuggler's Point parapet wall was badly damaged

Image caption Great chunks of the wall were destroyed by storms as the UK experienced its wettest winter since records began in 1910

Image caption This crane is lowering a section of the new sea wall that is about to go in

Image caption Workers fix the giant crater that opened up below the rail track at Riviera Terrace

Image caption The huge hole needed to be filled with concrete; more than 5,000 tonnes of concrete is being used in the new wall

Image caption Network Rail says its staff have been working by day and night, and has told the government it hopes to reopen the line before its target of mid-April

Image caption It is not just the line and parapet wall that needs rebuilding - about 30 landslips also need repairing

Photos provided by BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott.