Media centre

Monday 21 Dec 2015

West Coast main line runs full service after flood repairs completed

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

Passengers are benefiting from the return of a normal timetable on the West Coast main line after Network Rail fully reopened the section which was badly damaged by flooding north of Carlisle

Trains began travelling through the area at normal speed today (Monday 21 December) after speed restrictions were lifted just two weeks after the railway was under eight feet of floodwater.

Network Rail’s orange army has worked round-the-clock since the key route connecting England with Scotland was completely submerged as Storm Desmond battered the region over the weekend of 5 and 6 December.

Just two days after the railway was flooded temporary measure were put in place to allow a small number of trains to run through the area after the orange army removed large amounts of debris and mud from the railway and emergency repairs were made to the track and infrastructure.

Over the past two weeks engineers have built and fitted six new safety-critical electrical cabinets, installed four km of signalling cable and undertaken extensive signal testing and commissioning so the 20mph speed can be removed and a full service can run once more.

Martin Frobisher of Network Rail said: “The West Coast main line fully reopening is great news for passengers travelling on this key route. The orange army has worked tirelessly to reopen the section north of Carlisle as quickly as possible which was under eight feet of floodwater two weeks ago.

“Work has taken place round-the-clock to make repairs and clear the debris. Large amounts of signalling equipment, including these safety-critical electrical cabinets, had to be replaced and I would like to thank passengers for their patience while the work was completed.”

John Stevenson, MP for Carlisle and Chair of the All Parliamentary Group for the West Coast main line said: ‘Carlisle has been affected quite dramatically by the floods. The emergency services did very well in the initial aftermath ensuring that those affected were safe. It is now imperative that we begin to repair our infrastructure. I am pleased that Network Rail have already begun to do this and that rail travel on the West Coast Mainline has now returned to normal.’

Phil Bearpark, Executive Director Operations and Projects for Virgin Trains, said: “We’d like to thank our customers for their patience over the past couple of weeks. With trains back to full speed we are looking forward to the busy Festive period, traditionally one of the busiest times for our services to and from Scotland.”

Network Rail’s orange army will continue to be on standby over the Christmas period to tackle any further impact any bad weather may have on the network.