NEWS
Round the clock work at Sussex and Hamsphire landslips
In Hampshire, which saw “one of the worst landslips ever seen on the network” at Botley, plus two others nearby, work is underway to completely rebuild 80m of railway. A team of 100 engineers from Network Rail and contractor Osborne are working round the clock to get trains running again in mid-March.
Network Rail engineers aiming to rebuild three collapsed sections of railway in Sussex by Monday, 3 March suffered a setback as further slips delayed the works.
As RTM went to press, it would be “several more days” until the reopening following the month of disruption and bus replacement on the line from Hastings to Tonbridge, primarily the Wadhurst to Battle section, after the landslips at Stonegate, Whatlington and Battle.
Network Rail has almost finished repairing the damage after “four weeks of round-the-clock working” it said. Once it does reopen, there will be speed restrictions at first to monitor the repaired track.
Network Rail’s route managing director, Fiona Taylor, said: “There will need to be more work on the route in the coming months, although very much less disruptive, as we get to grips with the remaining damage at other locations.”
Rail minister Stephen Hammond visited the site to see the damage. He said: “The work Network Rail has been carrying out to reopen the line around Botley by mid-March has been impressive. They undertook a massive engineering task just to prepare the site before they could start dealing with three separate landslips along one mile of track. Lessons are being learned from the extreme weather and I’ve asked Network Rail to examine how the network can be made more resilient in future.”
Commercial director for the SWT-Network Rail Alliance, Sam McCarthy, said: “This is a huge project and we were pleased to be able to provide the transport minister with an opportunity to see first-hand some of the extensive work being completed by our engineering teams. We are very proud of the work being done by our teams to restore this vital link for passengers. There is still a lot to be done before we can resume our services, but
with work progressing well and on schedule, we expect to be able to reopen the line by mid-March.”
Explaining the engineering works, Network Rail said: “The largest slip site near Botley saw an 80m long and 15m high length of embankment fail. When it was originally constructed in the 1840s, the engineers built the earthworks out of whatever material they could find locally, which was a mixture of clay, sand and silt. Persistent heavy rainfall during the wettest winter in 250 years caused the embankment to become unstable, ultimately suffering what engineers call a rotational failure, where the land to the south of the line raised up, as the embankment sunk down. It is now being completely dug out and replaced with new material, supported by a 100m wall of sheet piles which have been sunk into the ground along both sides and tied together with steel rods.”
April date for Dawlish reopening
The storm-hit Dawlish line could be reopened on 4 April – reconnecting West Devon and Cornwall to the national rail network – almost two weeks ahead of schedule, according to Network Rail.
More than 300 engineers have been working round-the-clock to improve sea defences. The main breach has been repaired with nearly 5,000 tonnes of concrete and 150 tonnes of steel, and a new 200m section of track is ready-built for installation.
The engineers will now focus on installing 120m of large concrete wall sections, repairing 525m of parapet walls and renewing 13 miles of cables between Dawlish Warren and Teignmouth.
Mark Hopwood, MD at First Great Western, said: “We appreciate Network Rail’s efforts to work round the clock to get the line reopen so we can resume services for customers as soon as possible.”
Network Rail is considering five alternative options for the future or else improving resilience on the coastal route, according to a briefing report to MPs dated mid-February (see map):
a) Reinstate the Okehampton line (between Plymouth-Exeter,
via Okehampton), which
closed in 1967 b) Create a new line connecting existing freight lines from Alphington (near Exeter) and Heathfield (near Newton Abbot)
12 | rail technology magazine Feb/Mar 14
c) Options between Newton Abbot and Exeter (with new tunnels) – but current level of trains via Dawlish route could be maintained: Exminster – Newton Abbot; Starcross – Newton Abbot; or Dawlish Warren – Newton Abbot d) Make the coastal railway more resilient
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin will consider the final proposals in June and a formal shortlist will be published in the autumn.
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