Wednesday 27 Jan 2016
Network Rail assessing track and sea wall damage on the Cumbrian coast line
- Region & Route:
- | North West & Central
Network Rail closed the railway between Whitehaven and Workington just after 2pm on Tuesday (26 January) when the sea wall at Parton was breached by the sea in three places.
The sea wall, which supports and protects the railway, and around 700 yards of ballast – the heavy stone which provides the foundations for the railway track – were damaged by high tides as Storm Jonas hit the Cumbrian coastline.
Ian Joslin from Network Rail said: “Our structural experts are on site assessing the damage to the sea wall and track caused by yesterday’s storm but are at the mercy of the tides for some parts of the assessment.
“Once the extent of the damage is clear we will be able to plan the repairs so we can safely re-open the line to passengers as quickly as possible.”
Northern Rail is running replacement bus services between Whitehaven and Workington. All services from Barrow terminate at Whitehaven and all services from Carlisle terminate at Workington.
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