Latest Rail News

Battered Newcastle-Carlisle line to reopen after ‘significant rebuilding project’

Services on the Tyne Valley Line between Newcastle and Carlisle, which was left battered last month after extreme weather, will resume on Monday (8 February) as Network Rail engineers carry out final repairs.

They have been on site at Farnley Hough, near Corbridge, since early January after a huge landslip forced Network Rail to shut down the line twice in a row.

Since then, they have cleared over 35,000t of soil and debris away from the site after the wettest month on record caused a nearby drainage pipe to burst.

^{The landslip at Farnley Haugh}

After initially diverting the running water away from the site, engineers had to start cleating away the fallen debris while making sure not to cause further landslips by stabilising the bank. Once that was carried out, they were able to repair the track itself.

Hexham’s MP, Guy Opperman, said the visited the site and could “honestly say” it was one of the largest engineering problems he had ever seen.

^{Telemetry showing the extent of the landslip on the line}

Rob McIntosh, route managing director at Network Rail and its spokesperson for the line’s repairs, said: “The unprecedented weather which led to the landslip, and which has continued throughout the clear up, presented us with a series of difficult engineering challenges but I am pleased to confirm that the work has gone to plan and that passenger services will resume from Monday.

“I would firstly like to apologise to passengers the disruption this has caused and thank them for their patience during the recent weeks.  I would also like to thank the community living near the site of the slip for their ongoing patience and understanding with what has been a significant rebuilding project which is set to carry on for many weeks.”

^{Aerial photographs of the damage}

Alex Hynes, Northern Rail’s boss, said the operator is offering its customers compensation given the disruption caused by the extensive and challenging project.

Also today, Network Rail announced the railway near Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire is due to reopen tomorrow (5 February) after its engineers fixed a bank slip on the site, which has affected trains in the area since last weekend.