Drone shots reveal 800-tonne crane set to lift derailed cement wagons

Rail engineers are making good progress to recover a derailed freight train near Carlisle so major repairs can take place to get the railway reopened for passengers as soon as possible.

Rail engineers are making good progress to recover a derailed freight train in Carlisle so major repairs can take place to get the railway reopened for passengers as soon as possible.

Shortly after 8pm on Wednesday 19 October, five wagons each filled with 80 tonnes of powdered cement came off the tracks at Petteril Bridge Junction. One wagon ended up in the river Petteril and two others came to rest on the railway embankment.

Network Rail has just released latest drone footage from site ahead of an 800-tonne crane recovering the stranded wagons this weekend.

So long as strong winds don't delay the lifting, all three wagons should soon be removed and made ready to be taken away by rail accident investigators.

Installing the crane on unstable ground in an old railway siding since the incident has been a feat of engineering in itself, and needed 300 tonnes of powdered cement extracting from the wagons, 3,800 tonnes of stone to build a site compound, 22 lorries to transport the crane sections, 16 foundation piles 13 metres deep for the crane pad and a 100-tonne crane to build the main 800-tonne crane.

Once the wagons have been removed Network Rail can take over the site to fully fix the railway infrastructure at Petteril Bridge junction.

The repair work is a major undertaking.  Forty engineers will be on site each day, replacing 80 metres of damaged track, installing 400 metres of cabling for signals and points, replacing two switches and moving sections of track which enables trains to switch lines.  They are to secure bridge foundations eroded in the River Petteril with 100 tonnes of stone and rebuild 41 metres of destroyed bridge parapet.

Mark Evans, Network Rail senior programme manager, said: “I’d like to thank rail passengers and local people for their continued patience while we’ve been working hard to recover the stricken freight train in Carlisle. A great deal of preparation work has gone into the complex lifting of the wagons, with the main crane now towering above the city ready to lift - so long as the autumn weather doesn't get in the way.

“Once this is done our Network Rail teams are poised and ready to crack on fixing the railway so we can get the line reopened for passengers as soon as possible. With the route expected to stay closed until the start of next month our advice is to still please check National Rail Enquiries as journeys will take longer and will involve replacement buses.”

It’s hoped this work will be complete early in December so train services can resume on the Tyne Valley and Settle to Carlisle lines.

In the meantime, rail replacement buses will continue to be in operation to keep passengers on the move, with people being urged to plan their journeys at www.nationalrail.co.uk.