On Wednesday 8th November CML were called out to two emergency landslips by our client Network Rail. One at Dewsbury, where a section of 5m high stone retaining wall had failed causing the Up main to be closed, and secondly an embankment failure on ECM5 near Newton Aycliffe, to a landslip that had closed the Down main line. In both instances CML mobilised to site and worked 24/7 to repair the failures and undertake emergency repairs to re-open the railway as soon as possible.
A collapsed section of a 5m high masonry retaining wall at Dewsbury resulted in the partial closure of the railway between Manchester and Leeds. To make safe and re-open the railway as soon as possible, a granular fill berm solution was selected to reinstate support to the railway. Over the course of the next 72 hours, our teams worked around the clock to install over 2500 tonnes of compacted fill, enabling the railway to reopen safely at line speed.
Credit goes to our emergency response teams for the successful initial response, and subsequent few days to deliver this repair so quickly. Our teams mobilised to site within 2 hours of receiving the emergency response remit, to make the site safe and establish monitoring systems on the retaining wall and railway lines. A geotechnical assessment was undertaken to agree the most effective solution within hours of the call-out, along with agreement for third party land access. Delivery teams mobilised plant and materials within the first 24 hours to commence construction of the granular fill berm. The railway was reinstated to line speed just 72 hours after the initial response.
Intense rainfall during storm Debi, on top of a previous wet month, resulted in a landslip on the East Coast Mainline (ECM5) near Newton Aycliffe. The damage made the nearest line un-safe for the passage of trains, and a speed restriction was imposed on the adjacent line resulting in significant delays to rail services. Several factors constrained the proposed repair solution: River Skerne running at the toe of the 6m high embankment; OHLE restricting plant operations; S&T cable troughing was left suspended at the crest of the embankment slope. And due to the importance of the ECM route, train operations were to remain open on the adjacent line throughout the repair works.
The team developed the design of a 9m deep, 19m long sheet piled wall at the crest of the embankment, as the quickest and most effective solution to support the track and re-open the railway. To facilitate this work, our team agreed the emergency installation of a river crossing over the Skerne with the Environment Agency and arranged temporary removal of the OHLE and protection of S&T cables to protect these assets during the piling works.
All piles were successfully installed in nighttime possessions so to minimise disruption to rail travel on the remaining operational line. On completion of the piling works, the nearest line was re-opened to rail traffic reducing pressure on rail services. And a granular fill berm began construction during normal daylight hours to permanently reinstate the failed section of embankment.
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