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Wednesday 17 Aug 2005

WELCOME NEWS FOR PASSENGERS AS TESCO TUNNEL DECLARED SAFE AND RAIL SERVICES RESTORED (UPDATE 5)

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National

Passengers who use Chiltern Railways received welcome news today as the remaining Tesco tunnel structure was declared safe and a firm date was set for normal services to resume. The Gerrards Cross route will re-open on Saturday 20 August, and a complete service for commuters will resume from Monday 22 August.  Engineers are working around the clock in the tunnel, rebuilding the track and signalling that was damaged by the collapse.  Since the tunnel collapse on 30 June, Tesco and its contractors have removed over 25,000 tonnes of earth and some 60m of tunnel structure.  Independent engineering experts have thoroughly reviewed the tunnel design, the building methodology and the earth used as infill, which all form part of the overall tunnel design.  They agree with Tesco and its consultants that the structure is safe for the passage of trains.  The underlying cause of the accident is still subject to a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation, but initial views are that the loading sequence used in the construction of the tunnel was the major factor that caused the collapse. John Armitt, Network Rail’s Chief Executive, said: “Now we are satisfied that the tunnel is safe, our engineers have moved in and will be working night and day, rebuilding the track and signalling damaged in the tunnel collapse, to get trains moving once again.  I appreciate the last seven weeks have been extremely frustrating for passengers, however we could not contemplate re-opening the line unless were satisfied that the Tesco Tunnel was completely safe.” Cath Proctor, Managing Director for Chiltern Railways, said: “We are very pleased to be able to restore our full timetable, including two trains an hour between London and Birmingham. Re-opening the line at Gerrards Cross is what passengers have been waiting for and we are relieved that, after seven weeks, Network Rail, HMRI and Tesco are fully confident that the line is safe to enable us to run trains through the area. We thank all our passengers for their patience throughout this difficult time and look forward to providing our usual frequent, reliable and efficient service. The tunnel collapse on 30 June has caused major disruption to some of our passengers, but we have tried, in very difficult circumstances, to run the very best possible service.” Allan Spence, from the HSE’s Railway Inspectorate, said: “Following the removal of all parts of the tunnel that were damaged during the collapse, detailed engineering calculations and remedial work to the tunnel infill profile, the HSE agrees with Network Rail’s decision that it is now safe to re-open the railway”.