Rail bosses have confirmed the date for train services to restart as engineers work round the clock after a freight train derailed at Carlisle.
Passengers have faced weeks of travel misery after the Newcastle and Settle lines were damaged on October 19 when a train pulling 14 wagons of powdered cement came off the tracks.
People have had to use rail replacement buses between Carlisle and Newcastle and the Settle to Carlisle line between Carlisle, Appleby and Skipton as the line was closed in both directions.
Damage was caused to a Victorian-built railway bridge, railway lines and signalling equipment during the incident on Wednesday October, 19.
Five wagons – each filled with 80 tonnes of powdered cement – came off the tracks at Petteril Bridge Junction.
One wagon ended up in the River Petteril and two others came to rest on the railway embankment. An initial investigation said a faulty wheel was to blame.
An 800 tonne crane was brought in to recover the wagons.
Now, Network Rail has confirmed that the lines are set to reopen on Wednesday after more than 25,000 hours of work.
Phil James, Network Rail’s North West route director, said: “I’m sorry to passengers who’ve faced much longer journeys over the last seven weeks while we carried out our emergency railway repairs. I know how frustrating rail delays can be on people’s lives and we’ve worked tirelessly to get the routes restored as quickly as possible.
“This has been a very complex recovery and repair job. When it’s complete this major railway junction will be better than new and will provide more reliable journeys for passengers and freight for years to come.”
Over the last seven weeks:
- Forensic rail accident investigators assessed the cause of the derailment
- The locomotive and 11 of 14 wagons carrying powdered cement were recovered soon after the incident
- Giant vacuums removed 80 tonnes of powdered cement from 3 wagons which needed lifting by a huge crane
- An 800-tonne crane recovered those wagons which ended up in the water and on the embankment
- Environment Agency experts made sure no contamination entered the River Petteril
- Eighty metres of damage track was replaced
- 400 metres of cabling was installed for signals and points
- Two switches – moving sections of track which enables trains to switch lines – were replaced
- 125 tonnes of structural concrete was poured into 16 tonnes of metal reinforcement cages to repair the damaged railway bridge over the river
- The work took 25,000 hours, over 40 people working 12-hour days, seven days a week, for seven weeks.
Train services are due to resume from start of service on Wednesday, December 7.
Kerry Peters, regional director at Northern, said: “We have been working very hard with Network Rail to reopen the railway at Petteril bridge following the freight train derailment in October.
“Work will be completed next week and Northern train services will be able to resume on both the Tyne Valley and Settle to Carlisle lines. We’d like to thank our customers for being patient during this disruption and everyone involved in getting our passengers moving again.”
Sharon Kennedy, Environment Agency environment manager, said: “The Environment Agency incident response teams provided support to the initial rail incident and the ongoing recovery work to ensure minimum impact to the environment . This example shows how we can work together at pace to respond to a critical incident to support safe rail infrastructure, protect the environment and manage flood risk to the public.”
Anne Ridley, of the Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership, said: “This incident has highlighted the importance of the railway to our communities and local residents. We welcome the news that the complex recovery and reinstatement operation is on target for reopening of services to and from Carlisle for passengers on the Tyne Valley and Settle-Carlisle routes. Thank you for everyone involved in the operation and to the rail replacement bus companies and their drivers for helping passengers to get to their destinations.”
