The UK’s rail infrastructure manager Network Rail has invested £33m ($42.6m) into a project to prevent landslides on a section of the East Coast Main Line near Durham, England.
The major project, described as one of the biggest of its kind, is already 75% complete and hopes to stabilise 1km of railway built on an embankment at Browney Curve.
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Jon Calvert, Network Rail’s portfolio delivery director, said: “It’s paramount for us to take proactive action like here at Browney Curve to prevent problems before they happen.
“This is a mammoth worksite, the largest ever of its kind in Network Rail’s Eastern region, and our engineers are working tirelessly to secure the East Coast Main Line for the future.”
Calvert also praised the engineering team for completing work at the site with minimal disruption to services on the route as passenger services, including trains travelling from London to Scotland, have remained active along the line since work began in early 2024.
Work on the project, carried out by contractor Story, includes the installation of 529 piles up to 25m deep into the ground, the improvement of drainage for the railway to stop soil from getting waterlogged, and the widening of the embankment to make it less steep.
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By GlobalDataNetwork Rail has also planted new trees and wildflower meadows to strengthen the ground around the rail line, with plant roots that will take in additional water, and benefit the natural environment in the area.
Work on the installation of the piles is nearing completion, with the 400th pile recently installed, and is scheduled to finish by the UK autumn, while the land regrading and embankment widening work is expected to be complete by early 2025.
The project comes not long after Network Rail admitted several health and safety failings over its actions relating to a fatal train derailment in 2020 in Carmont, Scotland when a train hit debris from a landslide.
Among the failures listed in the trial, Network Rail admitted it had failed to ensure drainage assets by the track had been properly constructed years prior to the accident, shining a spotlight on the organisation’s responsibility to take action to avoid landslides.
