• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Dawlish sea wall collapse

Status
Not open for further replies.
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

4

455driver

Veteran Member
Joined
10 May 2010
Messages
11,332
ainsworth74 said:
Have you been to Somerset recently :lol:
Click to expand...

No, they have stopped running the trains for some reason! ;)

A signal lamp will be 12-20 feet off the ground (not sure what that distance is in Euros) so if that is under water there are some more serious problems to deal with than a poxy signal lamp. :lol:
 
C

Captain Chaos

Member
Joined
31 Jan 2011
Messages
835
455driver said:
No, they have stopped running the trains for some reason! ;)

A signal lamp will be 12-20 feet off the ground (not sure what that distance is in Euros) so if that is under water there are some more serious problems to deal with than a poxy signal lamp. :lol:
Click to expand...

Indeed. Unless it's a GPL of course ;)
 
ModernRailways

ModernRailways

Established Member
Joined
21 Apr 2011
Messages
2,051
yorkshirebear said:
there is now a bbc article saying network rail are hopeful of beating new deadline.

Cannot put the quote in from phone, if someone could do that, or a mod edit my post i would appreciate that.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-26335125
Click to expand...

dawlish railway reopening could beat target

network rail has told the government it hopes to reopen the railway line destroyed by storms at dawlish before its target of mid-april.

Rail minister steve hammond said he had been given a "commitment" that "if they can beat that date, they will".

The track connects cornwall and much of devon with the rest of the uk.

Transport secretary patrick mcloughlin will be questioned by mps on the transport select committee later over storm damage to places like dawlish.

'key priority'

network rail has said that it will reopen the track at dawlish, which runs along the seafront, by mid-april.

Business leaders in the south west have asked network rail and the government to consider opening an alternative route for the line that will run inland.

Mr hammond told bbc devon that it was a "key priority" to reinstate the railway.

"network rail had a good weekend last weekend and they have had some 20-hour days," he said.

"they are also looking at the long-term options for the railway.

"this is a truly exceptional event and we need to invest. Network rail is investing £35bn over the next three years.
Click to expand...

12345
 
G

Goatboy

Established Member
Joined
23 Jun 2011
Messages
2,274
Only of limited use whilst Bridgewater is shut, handy for London not so the North :(
 
R

Rich McLean

Established Member
Joined
6 Feb 2012
Messages
1,685
Goatboy said:
Only of limited use whilst Bridgewater is shut, handy for London not so the North :(
Click to expand...

Bridgwater reported to be re-opened by the 7th March. Water levels are now below the track bed, and work has started. New signalling has to go in, along with new track and ballast

There are however still some sections underwater, but should be clear next week
 
Last edited:
S

swt_passenger

Veteran Member
Joined
7 Apr 2010
Messages
31,479
James Starkie said:
I've been watching the webcam for the last few days, and, at the risk of asking a silly question but can anyone explain what sequence this work is following? ie, what are they doing?
Click to expand...

They seem to be building up in layers the same thickness as a course of the large blocks that appear to be 'permanent formwork'.

NR have put a load more photos on their webpage on the subject, I think they now possibly tell the story better than the webcam, the current picture at the top of the main page shows the basic setup, but scroll down and there's another link to a full set of Dawlish pics.

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/timetables-and-travel/storm-damage/

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/timetables-and-travel/storm-damage/dawlish/
 
Last edited:
S

sor

Member
Joined
15 Nov 2013
Messages
427
Zoe said:
Well considering that a lot of Conrwall is sitll mechanical, I'm just not sure why a railway fibre cable from Penzance to Totnes/Newton Abbot would have been installed. If it is indeed the case that communication between Exeter and the Newton Abbot and Totnes interlockings was via Met Office fibre cable to Penzance and then back to Newton Abbot via a railway fibre cable then I'm not if sure it would have been installed specifically for this type of event or if the installation would have been for another reason.
Click to expand...

I am speculating here, but presumably Network Rail's FTN will be carrying far more than signalling related comms - stuff like the GSM-R mast backhaul, the railway phone network plus IP network connectivity. If any third parties have laid fibre along the track they'll want it up and running too. Seems like there's plenty of reason for redundant fibres to be run through to Cornwall, no matter how the signalling is performed.
 
P

petersi

Member
Joined
24 Apr 2012
Messages
451
As a side note Cornwall is very important to the communication industry with several under sea cables landing there.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
 
O

Oliver

Member
Joined
17 Aug 2007
Messages
476
swt_passenger said:
NR have put a load more photos on their webpage on the subject, I think they now possibly tell the story better than the webcam, the current picture at the top of the main page shows the basic setup, but scroll down and there's another link to a full set of Dawlish pics.
Click to expand...

I can find references to the Dawlish webcam, but not the link. Help please...
 
HSTEd

HSTEd

Veteran Member
Joined
14 Jul 2011
Messages
16,776
Is the wall being replaced with a solid block of concrete or is that just me?
 
najaB

najaB

Veteran Member
Joined
28 Aug 2011
Messages
30,847
Location
Scotland
HSTEd said:
Is the wall being replaced with a solid block of concrete or is that just me?
Click to expand...
Based on the photos posted on the Network Rail page and watching the webcam, it seems that they are using pre-cast blocks and bonding them together with reinforced concrete that's poured on site. It's not a solid block though, you could see drainage pipes being cast into the poured concrete as it has been built up.
 
Y

YorkshireBear

Established Member
Joined
23 Jul 2010
Messages
8,699
They are progressing really really quickly. They are using fast curing concrete for sure as it is taking the load very quickly. They have had 7 days of good weather, now that is something they were not expecting and it really has let them work wonders. I mean look at the webcams! Look how sunny and calm it is down there! Mental. They are currently only not working at the tides highest two hours due to the wall being higher. Looks like the small breach near Dawlish Warren is being worked on just as quickly.

Overall much better progress than anyone expected and the other parts of the line are now being repaired alongside the main breach. The wall is now built up to almost its original height, and i would guess this reinforced concrete plug will be alot stronger when the next storm comes!
 
C

cambsy

On Moderation
Joined
6 Oct 2011
Messages
900
Has anyone got costs so far for Dawlish, and what total repair bill likely to be? What will the Dawlish section be like once opened? will it be concrete slab track or ballast etc?
 
J

John Webb

Established Member
Joined
5 Jun 2010
Messages
3,085
Location
St Albans
The "Dawlish Rail: 500m of wall still missing" is actually closer to Teignmouth on the section between Parsons tunnel and Sprey Point. Shame the video doesn't make that clear to help show just how complex NR's repair problems are!
 
E

edwin_m

Veteran Member
Joined
21 Apr 2013
Messages
24,954
Location
Nottingham
cambsy said:
Has anyone got costs so far for Dawlish, and what total repair bill likely to be? What will the Dawlish section be like once opened? will it be concrete slab track or ballast etc?
Click to expand...

According to someone in the know who posts on RMWeb, the concrete will be built up to formation level and then conventional ballast and track laid on top.

I would expect that they are just getting the job done and the cost won't be counted until it is finished.
 
T

Taunton

Established Member
Joined
1 Aug 2013
Messages
10,123
I can assure you that the costs are being recorded very carefully by the contractor doing the job, that's the whole basis on which they, and in turn the lads on the ground, will get paid.

I really can't understand why slab track is not used here. How many times has the ballast been washed away over the years? I did hear that, this storm aside, there is a full time PW gang on the section just to maintain all the issues that arise on it.
 
Y

YorkshireBear

Established Member
Joined
23 Jul 2010
Messages
8,699
My own theory on slab track is the damage the sea water would do to the concrete pooling between rails... The current concrete being poured i would hope will have a membrane above it to stop sea water getting to it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top