Thursday 8 Aug 2019
Engineers working to clear Winchburgh Tunnel flooding
- Region & Route:
- Scotland’s Railway: Scotland
Network Rail engineers have been on-site throughout the day working to clear over 2ft of flood water from Winchburgh Tunnel in West Lothian.
More than 50mm of rain fell in just over an hour on Wednesday night, filling the tunnel with water and overwhelming its drainage systems.
Network Rail engineers, assisted by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, are working to clear the standing water from the tunnel and overnight inspections will take place to check the track and signalling for any damage.
Train service are expected to resume through Winchburgh Tunnel from Friday morning and customers should check their journey at National Rail Enquiries https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ or ScotRail https://www.scotrail.co.uk/.
Liam Sumpter, Route Director for Network Rail Scotland, said: “We are working as quickly as possible to reduce the water levels so we can inspect the tracks for damage and clear out any sludge or debris that may affect the signalling systems.
“We’re sorry for the inconvenience this incident has caused our customers and will get services back on the move as soon as possible.”
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