Summit Tunnel Flood

[M60lad]

Not to sure how its been caused as not much rain has fallen recently but this morning added to the engineering works in Miles Platting Summit Tunnel is closed in both directions due to heavy flooding in the tunnel just found this on National Rail website:

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Heavy rain flooding the railway between Littleborough and Todmorden means that train services are currently unable to run between Rochdale and Todmorden. As a result, there will be no train services at Smithy Bridge, Littleborough and Walsden.

Trains will continue to run between Moston and Rochdale, and also between Todmorden and Leeds / Clitheroe. However, these services may also be subject to delays of up to 30 minutes and may be cancelled throughout.

Disruption is expected until 12:00.


Apparently shuttle buses are now running between Rochdale and Todmorden.

 

[chrissawer]

How strange, as you say not much rain over the last 24 hours.

I wonder if something got damaged in the heavy rain the other week and they have only just discovered the problem.

 

[John Webb]

Curious! Most of the Summit Tunnel is on a 1:330 slope down towards Manchester. There is a short level stretch at the East end of the tunnel at the summit of the line and then a 1:182 slope downwards through Todmorden. Wonder if it's water damage to lineside equipment? Or debris washed onto the track that needs clearing?

 

[Llama]

It's definitely not been like this before. The volume of water I've seen doesn't look to be enough to overwhelm the drainage in the tunnel. Where and how the water is entering the tunnel is more the worry.

The Rochdale Canal runs through the area, and at a higher level compared to the railway, although at the place where this issue is the canal is further away to the east of Summit tunnel running broadly parallel. At the south portal of Summit tunnel the canal does run virtually right next to the railway, maybe 20 yards away, but this recent problem is well within the tunnel.

 

[Spartacus]

I've read the ingress is near the northern end. Pure speculation but assuming the canal isn't rapidly draining (unlikely given the distance) my guess would be a burst water main.

 

[Llama]

The problem is a few hundred yards from the southern end of the tunnel.

In the last 8-10 years there has been a noticeable water leak that jets out of the tunnel wall that persists a few weeks after significant rain then disappears, always the same place. The problem is that now it suddenly has a dozen siblings in the same area.

 

[Taunton]

Sodbury Tunnel, east of Bristol Parkway through the limestone Cotswolds on the Badminton line, 2.5 miles long, has had a longstanding periodic flooding problem, ever since the line was built in 1900. It's quite complex the way the water bursts through or not, coming from different places over the years, and I think even now the dynamics compared to rainfall etc are not fully understood. There have been multiple alleviation approaches over time.

 

[scrapy]

Line has now reopened

 

[skyhigh]

It was a burst water pipe. Looked pretty impressive but it's sorted now. Main concern was an apparent bulge in the tunnel wall, but it's been inspected and declared as not caused by the water and structurally sound.

 

[snowball]

Not to sure how its been caused as not much rain has fallen recently but this morning added to the engineering works in Miles Platting Summit Tunnel is closed in both directions due to heavy flooding in the tunnel just found this on National Rail website:

I've never heard the phrase "Miles Platting Summit Tunnel" before. I assume this is the Summit Tunnel between Littleborough and Todmorden, a dozen miles north of Miles Platting?

 

[XAM2175]

I've never heard the phrase "Miles Platting Summit Tunnel" before. I assume this is the Summit Tunnel between Littleborough and Todmorden, a dozen miles north of Miles Platting?

The post would be better written as: this morning, added to the engineering works in Miles Platting, Summit Tunnel is closed in both directions due to heavy flooding.

 

[matchmaker]

It was a burst water pipe. Looked pretty impressive but it's sorted now. Main concern was an apparent bulge in the tunnel wall, but it's been inspected and declared as not caused by the water and structurally sound.

Isn't that the sprinkler system that was put in after the fire?

 

[snowball]

The post would be better written as: this morning, added to the engineering works in Miles Platting, Summit Tunnel is closed in both directions due to heavy flooding.

Sorry, I failed to read the OP properly! My eyes just focused on the words "Miles Platting Summit Tunnel".

 

[geoffk]

There is a restriction on larger vehicles (especially larger steam locos) travelling through Summit tunnel on the down (from Manchester) line. As you pass through the tunnel you can see the bulge in the tunnel wall referred to in post #9 and it is apparently this which is causing the gauging problem. Network Rail is due to relay 3km of track inside the tunnel at the end of October but my contacts in the area are unsure whether the work will include removal of the bulge.

The eastbound restriction applying to "larger steam locos" seems to mean anything bigger than an LMS Black Five and, if it's only steam locos affected I guess that NR will not be spending money on this, but does anyone know if larger diesel locos are also affected? When I was living in Littleborough I don't recall seeing a class 68, for example, going through on the down line. For some time all the bigger steam locos (Pacifics and Royal Scots) have been on the up line.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

If only the Woodhead had been retained as a diversionary route!

 

[SteveM70]

The eastbound restriction applying to "larger steam locos" seems to mean anything bigger than an LMS Black Five and, if it's only steam locos affected I guess that NR will not be spending money on this, but does anyone know if larger diesel locos are also affected? When I was living in Littleborough I don't recall seeing a class 68, for example, going through on the down line. For some time all the bigger steam locos (Pacifics and Royal Scots) have been on the up line.

There’s plenty of 66s use the tunnel both ways, plus occasional colas 56s on the oil tanks and sometimes we get the odd class 70

 

[61653 HTAFC]

There’s plenty of 66s use the tunnel both ways, plus occasional colas 56s on the oil tanks and sometimes we get the odd class 70

60s too.

On the 68 question, if they have to use the up line in both directions through Summit Tunnel, that's an extra complication for planning the TPE diversions during the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade.

If only the Woodhead had been retained as a diversionary route!

I know this post was tongue-in-cheek, but diverting via Greetland, Brighouse, Bradley, Huddersfield, Shepley, Penistone (reverse), Woodhead, Hadfield would be quite the adventure!