Media centre

Wednesday 12 Jan 2005

TRAIN SERVICES RESUME NORTH OF CARLISLE

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Passenger train services will start running again north of Carlisle from first thing tomorrow morning (13 January) following the devastating floods in the area at the weekend. The floods caused severe damage to Eden Valley viaduct just north of the station but sufficient repair work has been completed to allow a restricted shuttle service to operate between Carlisle and Glasgow. Full normal services will be running from Monday morning (17 January). In a tribute to the staff involved in the repair work, Network Rail’s route director Robbie Burns commented: “We have had dozens of our own staff and contractors working round the clock in atrocious conditions to get the railway on the move again. Without their dedication and the co-operation of the train operating companies we would not have been able to achieve what we have so quickly. The whole rail industry has pulled together in ways that those on the outside would not appreciate.” The floods washed away the formation supporting the track, leaving it susceptible to collapse. The water also caused damage to several motors that drive sets of railway points used to change trains from one line to another, and general debris had to be cleared away. While train services have been disrupted, passengers have been transferred to buses for the journey between Carlisle and either Lockerbie or Annan, where they have been able to continue by train.