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Thursday 15 Aug 2024

Mammoth £33m prevention project to tackle East Coast Main Line landslips

Region & Route:

Eastern

| Eastern: East Coast

Passenger and freight journeys on the East Coast Main Line are being protected from unstable ground conditions in one of the largest projects of its kind.

Network Rail is investing £33m to prevent moving land at Browney Curve near Durham and improve future train performance.

Since September 2023, hundreds of engineers have been working to stabilise 1000 metres of railway which is built on top of an embankment.

Over time the land beneath the tracks has been slowly moving, and without intervention could unexpectedly force the major Anglo-Scottish rail route to close for urgent but lengthy repairs, causing major delays to journeys.

Now teams in Network Rail’s Eastern region are taking proactive action to protect passenger and freight services from the active landslip, while keeping trains running at the same time.

To do this they are:

• Installing 529 piles up to 25-metres deep into the ground to protect the railway
• Improving railway drainage to stop soil from being waterlogged
• Widening the embankment to make it less steep for better stability
• Planting multiple new trees and new wildflower meadows to strengthen the ground and benefit nature

The project is now about 75% complete and has just seen the 400^th pile installed*.

It’s estimated to finish this autumn before wet winter weather arrives while the regrading of the land will take until next spring.

Jon Calvert, Network Rail’s portfolio delivery director, said: “Keeping the railway running safely and smoothly is what we’re here to do, and it’s paramount for us to take proactive action like here at Browney Curve to prevent problems before they happen.

“This is a mammoth worksite, the largest ever of its kind in Network Rail’s Eastern region, and our engineers are working tirelessly to secure the East Coast Main Line for the future. It’s a huge achievement to have done this while causing minimal disruption to this vital rail route, which will soon be better protected for passengers and freight for years to come.”

Nationally, Network Rail is responsible for 190,000 sites where land movements need to be monitored, maintained and managed.

To find out more about its work to protect passenger and freight journeys you can visit: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/looking-after-the-railway/earthworks-cutting-slopes-and-embankments/