Media centre

Tuesday 3 Jul 2007

NETWORK RAIL CHIEF EXECUTIVE VISITS FLOOD SITES

Region & Route:

Network Rail's chief executive, John Armitt, saw some of the devastation caused by floods in South Yorkshire first hand yesterday (Monday 2 July). Mr Armitt arranged the visit to thank Network Rail people who have been working around the clock to restore services following the extreme weather last week. "I wanted to see for myself some of what we have been up against and to thank our people for all their hard work," said Mr Armitt. "Some of them have been fighting the floods at work and then going home, only to have to deal with the same thing there. "I was very impressed by the amount of work which has been achieved in such a short time and want to give my sincere thanks to everyone who has been working so hard to get the network back on track." Mr Armitt visited Mexborough on the Sheffield - Doncaster route, which saw the track bed completely submerged by the floods. Our people have replaced ballast washed away by the water and signalling equipment which was damaged when the floods engulfed location cases. The route re-opened on Tuesday 3 July. At Adwick an entire section of the track bed was washed away and the stanchions supporting the overhead lines were worked loose by the force of the water. This has been repaired and work on the signalling continues to restore services on the Leeds - Doncaster route this week. Finally Mr Armitt saw the full scale of the devastation caused at Kiveton where whole sections of the embankment have been washed away on the Sheffield - Worksop line leaving track hanging in mid-air in places. This will take several weeks to repair and is expected to cost in excess of £1million.