Media centre

Wednesday 3 Aug 2016

Train service resumes following bridge collapse in Leicestershire

Region & Route:

Network Rail engineers and East Midlands Trains have confirmed that a near normal train service will run today (Wednesday 3 August).  

 

A road bridge partially collapsed onto the railway at Grove Lane near Barrow Upon Soar overnight on Monday which meant that no trains were able to run through the area all day on Tuesday 2 August.

Paul McKeown, investment director for Network Rail said: “Our team was carrying out investigation work following reports of dips in the road at Grove Lane bridge when the parapet wall partially collapsed.  Our engineers have worked around the clock to make the area safe, remove debris and repair the tracks below.

“We’re working with East Midlands Trains to ensure a near-normal service to London can operate, with two of the four tracks through the area open today.  We’re sorry for any continuing disruption caused to passengers, who are advised to check service details before they travel.

“A full investigation is underway into the cause of the collapse.  We are working on plans to repair the bridge and will provide an update to the local community once we have a robust timeline for this work.”

East Midlands Trains will be running a near normal service to London but will be unable to call services at Loughborough until further notice. A replacement bus service will be operating from Loughborough to connect with trains at East Midlands Parkway and Leicester.  A replacement bus service will also remain in place from Barrow upon Soar, Sileby and Syston.  For more information and details of the bus timetables, visit eastmidlandstrains.co.uk.

Jake Kelly, Managing Director for East Midlands Trains, said: "The work carried out by Network Rail yesterday and overnight means that we are able to run a near normal service again today.  We would firstly like to thank our customers for their patience yesterday, and also thank Network Rail for working around the clock to ensure we could start running train services again this morning.  There is still more to be done this morning to re-open the line fully, but the work now completed will allow us to start running a near normal service to and from London this morning which is good news for our customers.  

"As we are trying to run as many trains as possible on fewer lines than we normally have, we have made some changes to the timetable and replacement bus services will remain in place from some stations including Loughborough, Barrow Upon Soar, Syston and Sileby, so we'd urge passengers travelling from these stations to check for travel information and updates at eastmidlandstrains.co.uk.”

The bridge, like all Network Rail structures, is regularly inspected. Additional inspections and repairs have been completed previously as this area is known for subsidence.  The team working for Network Rail was investigating the structure of the bridge when part of it collapsed onto the railway.

Notes:

• There were no injuries to those working on site or members of the public as a result of the incident

• No trains were running beneath the bridge at the time

• East Midlands Trains information and advice is available at www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk

• Water services have been restored by Severn Trent Water after disruption overnight

• An emergency road diversion is in place