Severn Valley Railway formation slips at Sterns again

THE Severn Valley Railway’s trouble blackspot at Sterns near Eardington is causing concern once again, after the River Severn reached exceptionally high levels during above average rainfall during February.

Movement in the trackbed was detected and trains are subjected to a temporary speed restriction while the railway’s engineers assess the situation.

Towns along the river from Shrewsbury to Worcester made national headlines as storms Ciara and Dennis battered Britain over consecutive weekends, causing widespread flooding, especially in Ironbridge and Bewdley where many properties were under several feet of water. The problem was exacerbated towards the end of the month as Storm Jorge brought a further 80mm of rain.

The second wettest February on record brought 179.3mm of rainfall between the 1st and 25th of the month (193.4mm in 1990), while the river reached 5.48 metres at Bewdley, the record being 5.56 metres.

Although the excessive rainfall is bad enough, it is the water draining into the Severn from the hills over the border in Wales that causes the river’s level to rise to abnormal levels, with Sterns being one of its closest points to the course of the railway between Eardington and Hampton Loade. Movement of the trackbed has been a constant problem over the years and passengers are able to observe telegraph poles that were once just feet from the track now 30 or more feet away, among trees that have also slipped down the bank towards the river, as evidence of the instability of this stretch of line.

However, much work has been done over the years to stabilise the surrounding ground and until now, hasn’t presented a problem for some time. The railways has been plagued by land movement problems and washouts over the years; in 2007 it suffered washouts at several places along the line (Heritage Railway issue 100) which caused services to be suspended between Bewdley and Bridgnorth for almost a year and delaying the commissioning of the Engine House Visitor Centre at Highley, while more than £3.7 million worth of repairs were carried out.

More recently, a short section of line at County Boundary north of Arley was the subject of extensive repairs, including the use of‘soil nails’to help stabilise the shifting subsoil. However, the current problem at Sterns is not simply down to the swollen river; the river actually acts as a support to the land when it is high, but the saturated ground along its banks following incessant rainfall slips towards the river as the water recedes and as the water level started to drop at the beginning of March, engineers were keeping a close eye on ground conditions before a decision on what action needs to be taken could be made.

Already hampered by a 5mph speed restriction in the woods between Hampton Loade and Country Park, where a slight twist in the track was detected earlier in the winter, trains passing Sterns are now also currently restricted to 5mph with the first train of the day and all after dark movements having to observe a‘stop and Proceed’directive, with footplate crews required to observe and report any further movement of the track along a 110-yard section of infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the West Somerset Railway sustained a minor slip at Crowcombe Heathfield on February 16, temporarily blocking the line until debris was cleared.