David Cameron has said all proposed alternative rail routes to the vulnerable Dawlish line "remain on the table" despite suggestions it could cost up to £3 billion.
The Western Morning News understands a report compiled by track managers Network Rail detailing alternatives to the route that collapsed this winter is to be handed to the Department for Transport tomorrow.
Reports have suggested seven alternative options were considered, and they were given price tags of between £500 million and £3 billion, taking decades to complete.
But some fear the details have been briefed by a small number of opponents anxious to scupper any scheme that would see trains re-routed away from the south Devon coast.
A Network Rail source told the WMN that despite suggestions the options were "too expensive" its engineers had made no "value judgement" on whether the Government should back any of the projects or not.
Westcountry rail expert Neill Mitchell said even the most expensive estimates – which have yet to be confirmed – are modest sums in the context of a "once in a 150-year project".
And during a visit to Cornwall to confirm a £150 million rail boost for Cornwall today, the Prime Minister told the WMN: "We have the study looking at the different options and all these alternatives remain on the table."
Support for major rail investment in the region was underlined by business leaders spoken to by the WMN, with one arguing how the peninsula makes do with an "outdated 19th century rail line whilst the rest of the UK is moving towards a 21st century network".
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