Raging River Clyde sinks Lamington re-opening plan

RAIL passengers travelling between England and Scotland via Carlisle face a further month of disruption, because of delays in re-opening Lamington Viaduct.

The West Coast Main Line has remained closed north of Carlisle since December 31 2015, when the bridge, which is located ten miles south of Carstairs, suffered extensive damage during Storm Frank ( RAIL 792).

Engineers from Network Rail had hoped to re-open the route by February 1, after shoring up one of the bridge’s piers that has been scoured by floodwater in the River Clyde. However, further structural inspections revealed damage to a second pier and to steel bearings supporting the bridge deck. Bad weather and high river levels have continued to make the work site unsafe, putting additional pressure on the timeline to complete the works.

NR is now targeting the first week of March to finish repairs and widen the course of the river to reduce future water pressure on the structure. Additional concrete supports and rock anchors are being installed before the bridge deck is realigned and track relaid.

“We now need to drill rock anchors to a depth of eight metres to stitch the repaired areas of the bridge together,” said NR Route Delivery Director Stewart MacPherson.

“We are making good progress when water levels are low, but we have to pull staff out of their work areas when waters top the dams we’ve built, and wait for it to subside. Our top priority has to be safety.

“We will re-open in March, but we are subject to challenging conditions. The river level can come up quite quickly, which forces us to change the day’s plans.”

The impact on train movements continues to be significant. Since January 9, Virgin Trains has been running an hourly diversionary service each way from 0700-1900 between Carlisle and Glasgow via Dumfries. Rail replacement

bus services are in operation for passengers travelling between Carlisle and Edinburgh. And all Virgin Trains services from Birmingham are terminating at Preston and from London at Carlisle, where onward passengers must change.

ScotRail services from Glasgow to Dumfries are unaffected, although not all are calling at Kilmarnock. TransPennine Express services to Glasgow are terminating at Carlisle, and services to Edinburgh at Lockerbie.