(17/01/2016 19:35)wirralbus Wrote: [ -> ]Now we are nearing nearly three weeks of the closure between Carlisle / Lockerbie and Carstairs , isn't there group standard's issued by Network Rail that require train drivers to do route learning again .
Any idea if the closure is only till the 1st February or will it be a significantly longer closure.
Virgin trains west coast website says 1 February, but I suppose this is dependent on what the engineers find in the meantime, but also the weather
The closure will be beyond February 1st. Announcement due in the morning after a weekend of planning - the damage is worse than first thought.
Water was diverted away from Pier 2 to prevent further damage and allow repairs to start. Unfortunately that started affecting Pier 3 because of the changed flow, and what was supposed to be a 20m3 pour of concrete to fill a void under the pier turned into 350m3. That's one heck of a hole to fill!
Sounds like it could be around March / April time if that is the case .
I wonder now whether there is the possibility of planning for a bridge that spans the entire river without any piers in the river .
(18/01/2016 02:02)wirralbus Wrote: [ -> ]Sounds like it could be around March / April time if that is the case .
I wonder now whether there is the possibility of planning for a bridge that spans the entire river without any piers in the river .
The weather was exceptionally bad when the problem occurred. I do not think that there have been previous problems with the viaduct so I doubt whether NR willbuild a new viaduct to replace it.
Its hard to say at this juncture in time to say that Network Rail will have the WCML open at the start of March but that is the new timeframe we are looking at now .
From 1545 until 1700 the signalling system completely failed in the Stafford area.
No services operated into or out of Stafford during that time .
Services between London and Carlisle / Liverpool where rerouted to avoid Stafford via Stoke on Trent and Alsager , Manchester services via Stoke On Trent and Macclesfield .
Its nice to see how the railway can all knit together when the going gets tough .
The bridge at Lamington is expected to open to traffic now on the 22nd February , probably not at full line speed straight away .
Probably because the Network Rail engineering department are in hot demand with the line closure of the Settle and Carlisle now being until further notice with the hillside at Eden Brows being a potential calamity for the line .
390010 has been named The Cumbria Spirit in a ceremony at Carlisle today.
I bet all that entourage will travel first class!