Flood Damage Near Polmont - 12/08/2020

[route101]

The main purpose of the service is that it's now the only train which uses North curve at Cowlairs.

Done that when we had the Queen St diverts. Also its a 156 through Falkirk High.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

What's the latest news on when the Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh Waverley route via Polmont might be back in service?

 

[InOban]

What's the latest news on when the Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh Waverley route via Polmont might be back in service?

If you click the link within #111 you will see that the damage is major. Now that the flow of water has been stopped, they will be able to formulate a plan. Several weeks.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Several weeks.

Having now viewed the video clip (thanks!) I'm inclined to concur. Might well be September.

 

[InOban]

https://www.networkrailmediacentre....ood-damage-on-edinburgh-glasgow-line-revealed

So extensive was the flood damage, initial assessments are indicating that it could take two months to reinstate the line though engineers will continue to investigate the extent of the damage before confirming a final estimate for restoring service.

They suggest two months.

 

[theironroad]

Scale of flood damage on Edinburgh- Glasgow line revealed

Network Rail will be working around-the-clock to repair flood damage on the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line near Polmont.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

They suggest two months.

Wow, that's worse than I was expecting. Parts of that would be a bit of a bumpy roller coaster ride.

 

[najaB]

Wow, that's worse than I was expecting.

Yeah, that needs a few hundred metres of new railway.

 

[ScottDarg]

Network Rail Scotland has made a statement regarding damage to the main Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk High route caused by a breach in the Union Canal and subsequent flooding on Wednesday 12/08/2020.

Initial estimate is 2 months to repair. Full statement below:

Scale of flood damage on Edinburgh- Glasgow line revealed

Region & Route: Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Network Rail will be working around-the-clock to repair flood damage on the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line near Polmont.

With the flood water subsiding from the tracks, engineers have had the opportunity to fully inspect the 300m section of track damaged when torrents of water cascaded from the damaged Canal above.

So extensive was the flood damage, initial assessments are indicating that it could take two months to reinstate the line though engineers will continue to investigate the extent of the damage before confirming a final estimate for restoring service.

The force of thousands of gallons of water flowing from the breached canal bank has completely washed away sections of track and undermined embankments. The power of the flooding water also undermined and washed away overhead electrification masts and damaged others and left dozens of uprooted trees strewn across the tracks.

The canal water has also contaminated more than a kilometre of track and ballast which will need to be replaced.

Following unprecedented rainfall on Wednesday August 12, a 30-metre section of the Union canal at Muiravonside was breached causing the water to cascade down the slope, flooding the railway between Polmont and Bo’ness on the main Edinburgh – Glasgow route via Falkirk High.

With the team on site liaising with Scottish Canals, the priority was initially to secure the canal in order to stop the flooding – which was achieved on the morning of Friday August 14.

Inspections over the weekend have revealed the true scale and extent of the damage which has prompted the advice to passengers of ongoing disruption on the line for some time.

Kevin McClelland, Network Rail route delivery director, said: “We are working with our asset engineers and specialist contractors to assess the scale and extent of the damage and what we will need to do to safely reinstate the railway.

“It is remarkable to see the destructive power of the flowing water and the extent of the flooding and the scale of the damage is something I have never witnessed before on the railway. We are grateful to our colleagues at Scottish Canals for their prompt response in dealing with this unprecedented incident.

“We are working as quickly as possible to complete these repairs and to get passengers back onto the railway.”

Passengers seeking to travel between Edinburgh and Glasgow / Dunblane should contact ScotRail for details on alternative transport routes and bus replacements.

More information is available here. https://www.scotrail.co.uk/major-disruption-due-extreme-weather

There's a video of the damage within the article: https://www.networkrailmediacentre....ood-damage-on-edinburgh-glasgow-line-revealed

The damage means trains coming from Glasgow can go no further than Polmont and those coming from Edinburgh can go no further than Linlithgow, however ScotRail has not stated any intention to run such services. Instead, passengers are being directed to the alternate routes between Edinburgh and Glasgow or using a Falkirk Grahamston service to meet a rail replacement bus there.

Edinburgh to Dunblane services are also partially cancelled due to this - with trains only running between Falkirk Grahamston and Dunblane.

 

[InOban]

Thanks Admin for moving the posts.

 

[mcmad]

Believe that Scotrail are looking at running a service Edinburgh - Linlithgow but running as service to Polmont would delay the works as the access point at the yard West of the station is being used for the rebuilding works.

 

[snookertam]

Wonder if it will be the full 4 train per hour service that will run, Departing Waverley at 03, 15, 33 and 45. Depends on how that fits for return workings.

 

[Scotrail314209]

Wonder if it will be the full 4 train per hour service that will run, Departing Waverley at 03, 15, 33 and 45. Depends on how that fits for return workings.

It will most likely be a 2tph service, probably taking up the path of the Dunblane service. So Haymarket, Edinburgh Park and Linlithgow would be the most likely calling point. From then I think it will be a bus to Falkirk Grahamston to connect with trains.

For the west side. Scotrail are running a service to Falkirk Grahamston via Croy calling at all stations en route.

Scotrail should look into reintroducing the Milngavie - Edinburgh service off peak to give them that extra 2tph.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

So once the ballast etc goes in, how will they re-pile - the piles for the electrification gantries?

 

[najaB]

So once the ballast etc goes in, how will they re-pile - the piles for the electrification gantries?

I would guess the process would be something like:

1. Rebuild the formation (embankments, etc.)
2. Lay ballast, sleepers, place rails temporarily*
3. Piling and masts
4. Fix the track geometry
5. Re-wire the line

*There will likely be some settling of the earthworks so this would give a few weeks for everything to stop moving.

 

[Meerkat]

At what point did the trains stop and what triggered the stop - witness reports, driver reports of flooding, or signal failure?

 

[DarloRich]

yep - that looks fairly bad

 

[jopsuk]

yep - that looks fairly bad

Basically the entire contents of the canal- quick estimate (48km, 1.5m deep, 10m wide) of 720 million litres of (debris carrying) water have come down and run along it.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

All 48km? Are there no lock gates?

 

[DarloRich]

All 48km? Are there no lock gates?

no - it is a contour canal

 

[Meerkat]

Considering there are a few aqueducts a lack of stop gates seems near criminal to me.

 

[Philip Phlopp]

Basically the entire contents of the canal- quick estimate (48km, 1.5m deep, 10m wide) of 720 million litres of (debris carrying) water have come down and run along it.

It didn't drain completely - it seems Scottish Canals placed temporary damn structures either side of the breach, by which time the water level had dropped by around 500mm. It does mean we're haggling over whether it was 240 million litres or 720 million litres escaped, so totally academic.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Considering there are a few aqueducts a lack of stop gates seems near criminal to me.

I bet the enquiry which should result, recommends something of this nature possibly even though it is shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted.

 

[paul1609]

I walked the Union Canal from the Almond Aquaduct to Falkirk wheel as part of my Lands End to John o Groats route last year. There's plenty of pinch points where a temporary barricade could be put in.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Probably slightly OT but it does seem that although weather is a root cause of many of the UK rail problems and including this one, that a lot of problems arise from Victorian infrastructure.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Probably slightly OT but it does seem that although weather is a route root cause of many of the UK rail problems and including this one, that a lot of problems arise from Victorian infrastructure.

Can't always blame it on the Victorians, the M60 motorway around Greater Manchester and the A555 Manchester Airport link road are both prone to flooding after heavy rainfall.

 

[Class 170101]

More electric trains shunting at Grangemouth, must be fun for the signallers

 

[BrianW]

At what point did the trains stop and what triggered the stop - witness reports, driver reports of flooding, or signal failure?

Some comments arising from the Stonehaven tragedy relate to inability to anticipate failures. We do seem to have more, and more intense, weather events- indeed the railway authorities recognise that. A lot of 'once in 100 years' incidents are closer to being annual now. Not the Victorians 'fault' as such. It's going to cost now.

 

[Journeyman]

It didn't drain completely - it seems Scottish Canals placed temporary damn structures either side of the breach, by which time the water level had dropped by around 500mm. It does mean we're haggling over whether it was 240 million litres or 720 million litres escaped, so totally academic.

I live in Winchburgh and the canal doesn't look noticeably lower. Does it fill up from somewhere? I've no idea how it works. How deep is it as well?

 

[jopsuk]

I live in Winchburgh and the canal doesn't look noticeably lower. Does it fill up from somewhere? I've no idea how it works. How deep is it as well?

fed from Cobbinshaw reservoir, south of Livingston, with the feed point being next to Almond Aquaduct. So the eastern part has been easily refilled, the western part as far as I understand remains low. Normal depth apparently is 1.5m- British canals generally* are shallow and narrow with low headroom (air draft); most canal narrow boats are very shallow draft, well under 1m. The two go together, obviously, but it means there was no need to dig canals deep.

*two of the four active Scottish canals- Crinan and the Caledonian- were designed for sea-going sailing vessels, so the locks are wider, accommodate deeper draft keels and have much higher air draft

 

[Geogregor]

Can't always blame it on the Victorians, the M60 motorway around Greater Manchester and the A555 Manchester Airport link road are both prone to flooding after heavy rainfall.

Some comments arising from the Stonehaven tragedy relate to inability to anticipate failures. We do seem to have more, and more intense, weather events- indeed the railway authorities recognise that. A lot of 'once in 100 years' incidents are closer to being annual now. Not the Victorians 'fault' as such. It's going to cost now.

All true. Having said that, Victorian builders had poor understanding of geotechnics and soil mechanics. Their earthworks were often poorly designed and constructed.

In general while their bridges and viaducts were often over-engineered (simply to be on the safe side) the cuttings and embankments were relatively poorly thought-out and constructed. Slopes are steep by modern standards, materials in the embankments are often quite random.
At least that's my understanding, correct me if I'm wrong.

Of course increase in frequency of intense rainfall doesn't help. It will be major job to increase resilience of the network in the changing climate.