Sleights-Whitby rail line closed for emergency repairs: Collapsed culvert near Sleights

Sunday 1 May 2016

Sleights-Whitby rail line closed for emergency repairs

Region & Route:

Rail services between Sleights and Whitby have been suspended while engineers work to repair damage to the track near Ruswarp.

Engineers are currently on site assessing damage caused by a collapsed drainage culvert and putting plans in place for the recovery of the line.

The line is likely to remain closed until early next week while engineers repair the void under the railway created by the collapsed culvert and then relay the track above.

The issue was identified overnight by engineers conducting routine line inspections.

Network Rail is working closely with train operators to try to limit disruption for passengers.

Northern and North Yorkshire Moors Railway services will terminate at Grosmont during the emergency engineering works.

Passengers are advised to check with their train operator or National Rail Enquiries for the latest advice before travelling.

A Network Rail spokesman said: "Our engineers are on-site working to assess the extent of the damage and put plans in place for the recovery of the line.

"The damage to the line is significant and it will take several days for our engineers to complete the repairs.

"We understand the inconvenience these unavoidable works will cause passengers and are working as quickly as we can to bring the line back into service."

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office - Nick King
Media relations manager (Scotland)
0141 555 4108 / 07515 617073
nick.king3@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk