Network Rail repairs damaged trackbed at Haddiscoe in under a week following washout

TRAIN SERVICES were returned to the Norwich to Lowestoft line on February 5 – less than a week after part of an embankment and trackbed were washed away at Haddiscoe. The damage was discovered on January 30 when a Greater Anglia service, being worked by Stadler bi-mode Flirt 755331, was brought to a stand by its driver, who noticed what had happened to the trackbed, leaving the track suspended in mid-air.

Network Rail stated that high tides, combined with a surge created by high winds, had led to part of the original embankment and ballast supporting the tracks to be washed away. No one on board the train was injured in the incident, and all passengers and staff were safely evacuated from the stricken unit. Train services were diverted onto the East Suffolk Line.

The front end of the train was left standing rather precariously on the unsupported trackwork and had to be carefully removed by engineers before work on repairing the damage was carried out.

Up to 500 tonnes of rock and ballast were used to reinstate the damaged embankment, with the track replaced in time for train services to begin on February 5, just one week after the damage occurred.

Network Rail Network Rail A close-up image showing the washed away embankment and formation at Haddiscoe on January 30, with the front bogie of Greater Anglia’s 755331 resting on the unsupported track. Less than a week after the embankment and trackbed were washed away, Network Rail engineers have replaced the embankment using 500 tonnes of rocks. Work is nearing completion in this view, with just the ballast and track to be reinstated. The Norwich to Lowestoft line was reopened on February 5.