Petteril Bridge Junction

Key Carlisle rail routes back in business following freight derailment

Northern service passing over the repaired Petteril Bridge Junction 2022, Network Rail

Passenger trains were back on track on Wednesday morning on the Tyne Valley line between Carlisle and Newcastle and the Settle to Carlisle line between Carlisle, Appleby and Skipton. The services were suspended when a freight train derailed back in October.

On October 19, a freight train carrying powdered cement derailed. This not only caused major damage to the rail infrastructure, but also created a giant mess. Giant vacuums had to be deployed to remove around 80 tonnes of powdered cement from the three of the 11 wagons that needed lifting.

Further more, eight metres of track had to be replaced, as well as 400 metres of cabling and two switches. The Victorian-built railway bridge needed repairs and reinforcements, too. Soms 125 tonnes of concrete was poured for the job. All in all, more than 40 people worked seven days a week for 7 weeks to get the job done, putting in a total of 25,000 hours.

“I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we worked tirelessly to get the railway back up and running after it was severely damaged by the freight train derailment.This has been a very complex recovery and repair job”, Mark Evans, Network Rail senior programme manager, said.

Further reading:

Author: Nick Augusteijn

Former Chief Editor of RailTech.com

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Key Carlisle rail routes back in business following freight derailment | RailTech.com
Petteril Bridge Junction

Key Carlisle rail routes back in business following freight derailment

Northern service passing over the repaired Petteril Bridge Junction 2022, Network Rail

Passenger trains were back on track on Wednesday morning on the Tyne Valley line between Carlisle and Newcastle and the Settle to Carlisle line between Carlisle, Appleby and Skipton. The services were suspended when a freight train derailed back in October.

On October 19, a freight train carrying powdered cement derailed. This not only caused major damage to the rail infrastructure, but also created a giant mess. Giant vacuums had to be deployed to remove around 80 tonnes of powdered cement from the three of the 11 wagons that needed lifting.

Further more, eight metres of track had to be replaced, as well as 400 metres of cabling and two switches. The Victorian-built railway bridge needed repairs and reinforcements, too. Soms 125 tonnes of concrete was poured for the job. All in all, more than 40 people worked seven days a week for 7 weeks to get the job done, putting in a total of 25,000 hours.

“I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we worked tirelessly to get the railway back up and running after it was severely damaged by the freight train derailment.This has been a very complex recovery and repair job”, Mark Evans, Network Rail senior programme manager, said.

Further reading:

Author: Nick Augusteijn

Former Chief Editor of RailTech.com

Add your comment

characters remaining.

Log in through one of the following social media partners to comment.