30.10.19
£1.2m investment to stop moving slope on Settle-Carlisle railway line
Engineers had to dig out waterlogged soil and lay 11, 500 tons of rock to prevent a steep railway cutting, that was edging slowly towards the Settle-Carlisle railway line, spilling onto the tracks.
The upgrade at Fothergill, near Kirby Stephen, is being delivered as part of the Great North Rail Project. It will help keep the line between Leeds, Settle and Carlisle safe and reliable for passenger and freight trains.
The Great North Rail Project aims to by 2022, to have delivered a multi-billion package of improvements for customers across the north of England as part of Britain’s Railway Upgrade Plan.
The GNRP will enable 2, 000 extra services each week and allow 40, 000 more passengers to travel each day. With more trains, more seats that run quickly and are reliable.
A new drainage system was also installed to better manage water levels following heavy rain.
The work to steady the slope involved the excavation of soil that had been weakened by surface water from the surrounding area.
Once removed, engineers then made the cutting shallower and more stable using large amounts of rock.
A series of drainage pipes and catch pits were then laid to divert water away, making this section of line more resilient to substantial rainfall.
The work at Fothergill was completed by Network Rail’s Cumbria-based contractor, Story Contracting.
Olivia Boland, scheme project manager at Network Rail said: “Our routine safety inspections to improve the performance of rail services across the North of England is a key part of our Putting Passengers First programme.
“This is why we’ve invested £1.2m on earthwork strengthening work at Fothergill on the Settle-Carlisle line to help keep passenger and freight services running reliably between Leeds and Carlisle”