23.06.20
£3.5m investment into Cumbrian West Coast mainline
A significant investment has been implemented to protect the railway in Cumbria from landslips and provide more reliable journeys for passengers.
Engineers will upgrade the embankments along the railway to improve travel on the West Coast main line between Oxenholme and Carlisle as part of the Great North Rail Project.
The earth embankments are being made less steep and the ground more secure at two stretched of railway, one north of Oxenholme and the other just south of Carlisle.
The embankments are made from a mix of ash and local material excavated from nearby cuttings, which in these two areas are mainly taken from glacial deposits, known as Devensian Till.
Work is taking place after the site north of Oxenholme was damaged during Storm Desmond in December 2015 and is timed to be complete this month (June 2020). Network Rail has kept the railway open to passenger and freight trains throughout.
Project Manager at Network Rail, Richard Hockney, said: “This essential work as park of the Great North Rail Project will make this busy passenger and freight route more reliable in the future.
“Our teams have worked hard to secure a total of 1.5km of embankment over the last few months, working around challenges brought on by Covid-19.
“I’m proud to be delivering more reliable journeys for passengers and freight services using this vital stretch of railway in Cumbria.”