Bo' ness line faces£100k repair bill after wash outs
THEseverethunderstorms andtorrentialrainsthat hit Scotlandon August11-12and resultedin the terrible HST derailmentat Stonehaven, alsohitthe Bdness& Kinneil Railway(B&KR)c,ausingan estimated£100,000-worthof infrastructuredamage.
TheB&KR'csivilengineer identifiedfive landslipsites overa mile-longstretchof the former North BritishRailway branchduringan inspection of the railwayfollowingthe storms.It wasimmediately declaredunfit for traffic.
Theworstof the landslips occurredon a steep embankmentnearHigh Bridge.Overwhelmeddrains in a nearbycutting resultedin the trackbedbecominga river, with the embankmentbeing the first locationfor the water while makingitswayto lower ground,taking muchof the embankmentsideswith it.
A similarsituationwasfound at anotherof the five locations, albeiton a smallerscalew, hile the other three have seen the lowerportionsof cutting sides slip down into the'cessa' nd up to the top of the rails.
The sites have since been assessedby a geo-structural engineerw, ith the smaller cutting slipsexpectedto be repairedwith stone.
The wash outs could not havecomeat worsetime for the railway,whichwas planninga limited reopening in mid-Sept em be fro ll owing a lengthy closure because of the coronavirus.
The railway has public ally statedits incomeis currently at a recordlow,and until the embankmentis repairedi,t can not operate any train sand thereby generate any income.
TheB&KR'oswner/ operatorthe ScottishRailway Preservation Society has launchedan Emergency Land slide Appeal to help meet the £100,000repairbill.
Detailsof how you can donatecanbe found at: https://tinyurl.com/yxshg6sh