Railway was finally reopened for passengers travelling between Settle and Carlisle on Friday after efforts to repair the line following a major landslip took over a year to complete.

 

The 500,000t ground movement at Eden Brows came following a period of consistently heavy rainfall and forced the closure of the line through north Yorkshire and Cumbria.

 

Repair works saw two rows of high strength piles driven into the site’s sloping bedrock to form a ‘corridor’, upon which a 100m long concrete shelf has been installed as a solid base for the railway.

 

The size and scale of the job as well as its inaccessible location and the fact the ground was still on the move made this the biggest repair challenge ever faced by Network Rail, according to the organisation.

 

“I am beyond thrilled that customers and goods are moving again on this vital economic artery through Britain’s most beautiful landscape,” said managing director of the London North Western route Martin Frobisher. “Our orange army has ensured that even if the ground gives way again in future, the railway will not.”

 

The repairs were carried out by Story Contracting. An extensive earthworks project is also planned to protect the foot of the bank down to the adjacent river Eden while the land will be stabilised using drainage systems, rock armour and tree replanting.

 

The route’s reopening was marked by the Flying Scotsman which ran from Keighley via Settle to Carlisle on Friday.

 

Rail minister Paul Maynard said: “Network Rail, contractors and train operators have together worked hard to get this historic line – which first opened 130 years ago – running again. Our railways are crucial to our economic future and whether it’s improving services or completing essential repairs, the commitment is the same.”

 

Meanwhile rail passenger services stopped at Ilkeston in Derbyshire for the first time in more than 50 years at the weekend when the town’s new station opened.

 

The station links to Nottingham in the south and Chesterfield in the north and is expected to be used by more than 160,000 people in its first year. It stands on the site of the original Ilkeston Junction and Cossall Station which closed in 1967.

 

♦ Network Rail has this week denied reports that it plans to cut a number of ‘safety critical’ track upgrades from its Control Period 5 programme due to overspending on the network.

 

A letter from a Network Rail official, which was leaked to the Independent newspaper, warned of a “tough couple of years” ahead for the rail industry and claimed there is not enough money left in CP5 to deliver all planned enhancement schemes to 2019.

 

A spokesperson for the organisation has since said: “Network Rail has no plans to cut any safety critical jobs or any safety critical work. Any such suggestion is ridiculous scaremongering.

 

“But the rail network has faced a number of cost pressures and changing priorities, and like all businesses we have to live within our means. This sometimes means making hard choices.

 

"We are making savings in non-essential areas to ensure we’re delivering value to the taxpayer, while at the same time continuing to deliver a safe, reliable and expanding railway.”

 

(Photo: Network Rail)