Cumbrian Coast Line passengers urged to plan ahead in August and September

Friday 18 Jul 2025

Cumbrian Coast Line passengers urged to plan ahead in August and September

Region & Route:: North West & Central; | North West & Central: North West

Rail passengers are being urged to plan their journeys in advance during essential track upgrades in Whitehaven this summer.

Network Rail will replace railway lines and sleepers, track foundation stone (ballast) and drainage through the 1km long Bransty Tunnel which connects Whitehaven and Corkickle.

In recent years the tunnel has been flooding with water containing iron ochre, understood to be from historic mine workings, which has resulted in train speed restrictions.

Once the work is complete it will mean faster and more reliable journeys for passengers and freight on the Cumbrian Coast Line.

The scale of the project will see a full railway closure between 30 August and 22 September with rail replacement buses in place to keep people on the move.

Also, in preparation for the main phase of the renewal, the line will be closed for one weekend from late Friday 25 to Monday 28 July.

People are advised to check www.nationalrail.co.uk and allow more time to complete their journeys during the essential railway upgrades.

Darren Miller, Network Rail’s North West route infrastructure director said: “We thank people in advance for their patience during our extended closure of Bransty Tunnel so we can carry out essential track and drainage renewals to improve future journeys between Whitehaven and Corkickle. We always try to plan our improvements to cause the least disruption to passengers, which is why we have scheduled it in late summer to avoid the peak holiday season. If you’re planning to travel between 26 and 28 July and 30 August and 22 September please check National Rail Enquiries so you know exactly what to expect from your journey.”

Craig Harrop, regional director for Northern, said: “We are working hard to minimise disruption while essential engineering works are taking place in Bransty Tunnel in Whitehaven and will be running rail replacement services. Customers are asked to check before they travel as journeys may take longer than usual. We will provide more information on our website and in posters and announcements at stations along the route.”

Carrying out track upgrades in the confines of a tunnel is always complex and takes careful planning.

With the added challenge of the floodwater, Network Rail has worked closely with the Environment Agency to deliver the project sensitively*.

Pete Miles, environment and monitoring manager at the Environment Agency said: “We have been working closely with Network Rail and their consultants as they have developed plans to renew the tracks and ballast in Bransty Tunnel. We are satisfied that the control measures being implemented mean no release of iron ochre above that currently being observed should occur and will be inspecting the site during the works to check the impact on the harbour”.

For more journey information please visit www.nationalrail.co.uk or www.northernrailway.co.uk.

Notes to Editors

*The work will take place in three stages:

Firstly, Network Rail has worked with the Environment Agency to arrange installation of a temporary treatment plant for extracted water.
Once the treatment plant is in place, preparatory drilling to help determine how the work will be carried out and to assess the underground conditions will take place. While this work is happening there will be a rail replacement bus in operation.
The full track renewal will take place from 30 August 2025 until 22 September. Network Rail has worked carefully with train operator, Northern, to arrange alternative transport during this work.

The work to replace the track is separate to any future solution to improve the appearance of the water in the marina.

Network Rail is continuing to work with the Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners, the Environment Agency and the Mining Remediation Authority, as part of a working group focussed on delivering a solution-based feasibility report, to provide funders with options on diverting ochreous water away from entering Queens Dock and the Bransty Beck culvert.

The treatment plant will be in place during the work only due to Environmental permits and funding.

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 - North West & Central Region
0330 854 0100
NWCmediarelations@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.