FEATURE: PETER O’DOWD
UK FLOODS: EXETER RAILWAY TRACKS PROTECTED BY DAMS
Words: Peter O’Dowd
I
n late December 2012, with the Environment Agency and the Met Office forecasting that this could be the wettest year on
record, Network Rail’s engineers looked at what could be done to eliminate the risk of flooding where possible or at least minimise the damage to the network and disruption to passengers.
Cowley Bridge Junction was one such place where, in the past, flooding had caused major damage to the tracks and signalling infrastructure. The risk at this location was that the river Exe would burst its banks, and when this has happened previously the railway had, in effect, become a ‘flood relief channel’ causing damage to a long stretch of signalling infrastructure. Network Rail engineers had to think outside the box and looked for methods of temporary dams or other means of doing their upmost to minimise delay and disruption to passengers. In his search for a solution, Steve Hawkins of Network
30 RailCONNECT
Rail contacted Murlac Ltd to enquire about their water filled temporary dams. Murlac’s temporary coffer dams are widely used in the construction industry due to their reliability, speed of installation and flexibility which allows the dam to seal against uneven surfaces.
Following discussions between Murlac and Network Rail engineers, it was decided that although this method had never been used for this application before, providing that the dams could divert sufficient flow of water back into the river Exe, the damage to the track would be minimised and the signalling infrastructure would be protected.
Murlac delivered the dams to site
on the 21st of December and at that time it was hoped that the rain would ease and the river Exe would not burst its banks. However, following warnings from the Met Office and Environment Agency, Network Rail maintenance crews assisted by local fire brigade crews, worked through the night to install the dams. December 22nd saw the River Exe burst its banks and the pictures shown on national television over the next few days confirmed that the installation of the Murlac Water Dams had indeed minimised track disturbance and most importantly had protected the signalling equipment south of Cowley Bridge.
Railway engineers and maintenance crews worked tirelessly throughout the whole of the Christmas period, maintaining the dams and preparing for the anticipated structural repairs.
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