Storms have caused the first bit of damage at the newly repaired sea wall protecting the train line at Dawlish.
It was repaired in a massive £35m project by Network Rail following the winter storms.
A hole appeared in the sea wall at Dawlish as services were cancelled on Tuesday due to the force of the waves crashing on to the line.
It is the same section of wall which was destroyed in the storms last winter.
Network Rail described the hole as "minor damage" and said it would be fixed.
A spokesman said: "The sea wall at Dawlish regularly suffers minor damage after a storm due to its close proximity to the sea.
"This is why a team is tasked with checking the wall daily and carrying out minor repairs.
"The minor damage that occurred during last night's storm was not to the new section of the wall and will be repaired shortly."
