Cambrian Storm Damage / Conwy Valley Flooding 02/20

[Bletchleyite]

I am reminded of Keynsian economics - to boost the economy , you pay people to dig holes , then ask them to fill them up.

Line re-opens for the Autumn storms then ?

Well, we need a job creation scheme

 

[Penmorfa]

It seems like even more work is required to reopen the line, so no trains this summer then!

Work to reopen a railway line badly affected by floods in the winter is set to continue throughout the summer. Passengers on the Conwy Valley line, which runs from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Llandudno Junction, had hoped it would reopen this month after seeing ballast-laying trains run as far as Llanrwst in recent days. But Network Rail, which is currently working between Tal y Cafn and Llanrwst, has identified further work which needs to be carried out and has led to a 10-week delay.E]

'Lifeline' railway washed away for second time will stay closed all summer

Network Rail said the additional work aims to prevent long closures due to the effects of heavy rain and flooding

www.dailypost.co.uk

 

[Bletchleyite]

It does seem they're doing preventative work this time - is the funding model different in Wales?

 

[Penmorfa]

A further update follows, let's hope the rock armour is brought in by rail:

Press release from Network Rail:

Network Rail is currently working between Tal-y-Cafn and Llanrwst to reopen the Conwy Valley line which, for the second time in recent years, has been literally washed away because of flooding. The line runs through fields in an area prone to flooding from the River Conwy.

Extreme rainfall in north Wales in the last two years has caused significant flooding in this area and the power of the rising water has washed away the line. This has resulted in the line being closed for several months whilst it has been repaired. In 2020 alone this has cost £1m to the taxpayer and prevented passengers from using the railway for to get to school, work and other journeys.

Whilst work continues to reopen the Conwy Valley line following its most recent flooding, Network Rail has now identified additional work, on top of reinstating and re-opening the current line, to help protect the line from being washed away on this catastrophic scale in the future.

This work includes installing rock armour and this will help to add additional resilience to the line. Around 20,000 tonnes of rock will be installed to just over a mile of embankment. Work carried out by Network Rail in 2019 was successful in protecting the line south of Llanrwst from more significant damage during this year’s storms. This will now be replicated along further sections of the line.

The work will cost around £2.2m and will extend the closure for an additional 10 weeks, however this investment and continued disruption to passengers will be worth it to mitigate the risk of long closures due to wash-outs in the future.

The line will be reopened following this work, which is expected to be completed in September.

 

[Leslie Fletcher]

A further update follows, let's hope the rock armour is brought in by rail:

Earlier this week what looked like lengths of old rail were being dumped on the site of the goods yard at Roman Bridge; I think this may have been the purpose of the trips by on-track vehicles I mentioned in posts 204 and 208. Presumably new track, or at least new rail, is being provided as part of the repairs.