Media centre

Wednesday 16 Jul 2008

STEELY MEASURES BRING VALLEY LINE UP TO SPEED

Region & Route:

| Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

| Wales & Western

Network Rail is investing £8m to salvage an embankment at Sebastapol, which is threatening the Rhymney Valley railway line with increased earth movements. More than 400 steel beams, weighing a total of 1,200 tonnes, will be used to stabilise the slope. The project is the largest earthwork project undertaken by Network Rail this year.

The railway line between Tir-Phil and Pontlottyn runs parallel to the embankment at Sebastapol, which is a designated landslide area. First built in the 1850s, the line suffered two major landslips in 1906 and 1932 respectively. The railway line now risks similar fate as the changing climate, which brings a higher level of rainfall over the last two years, is causing the slope to move in excess of 150mm per year.

This project will provide a permanent solution to strengthen and stabilise the slope for the next 100 years. In addition, the speed restriction of 10mph between Tir-Phil and Pontlottyn will be lifted to provide passengers with a faster service through the valley.

To enable the first phase of the engineering work, the line between Rhymney and Tir-Phil will be closed from 25 July to 8 September 2008, and bus services will be provided to passengers by Arriva Train Wales.

Mark Langman, Area General Manager, says:

“Because of the nature of the land, we have kept the site on a rigorous maintenance regime throughout the years and we have also been looking into a more permanent solution to combat the instability of the slope. Ultimately, we do not want to compromise on passengers’ safety or risk suspending the line permanently.

“This project is carefully planned to bring minimal disruption to current passenger services. We are grateful for the support from Arriva Train Wales, allowing us to close the line for a short period of time, so that the most critical part of the engineering work can be carried out effectively.

“It is a highly complex project but will provide a robust solution. We are shifting nearly 15000 tonnes of materials into and out of an inaccessible area, while managing a tight timescale. We will have to move 200m of track to make way for six piling rigs to install 245 steel piles within six weeks before the line re-opens to passengers.

“The challenge may be huge but nothing can compare to the benefits that this project will bring to passengers.”

Engineering work on the valley line will continue with no disruption to passenger service after six weeks. The project will be fully completed by early 2009.