News from British Railways

Rail services to resume through Hatfield and Stainforth

13 June 2013The passenger timetable will be fully re-introduced by 29 July 2013 with some services starting from 8 July 2013.

1. Repair work following spoil heap slip at Hatfield colliery damaging the railway line (photo taken 11 June 2013)  

 

Passenger services are likely to resume with both Northern Rail and First Trans Pennine Express running a bi-hourly service supplemented with buses. Full details of the timetable will be published in the coming weeks

Safety standards

Safety regulations require all train drivers to have what is called ‘route knowledge’ of the lines they drive along. Because the line at Hatfield and Stainforth has been closed for so long, some drivers will have to re-learn the route in order to comply with safety standards. The area they need to re-learn is several miles long. This process is underway and will be completed quickly as possible.

“This has been one of the most complex recovery operations in recent years. In all, around one million cubic metres of material needs to be moved – that includes the slipped material itself and also enabling movements to create storage such as bunds and dams.

We are in the business of running trains yet this spoil slip has forced passengers onto buses for almost six months. I am grateful for their patience and understanding. I also thank freight customers who have been forced to take lengthy diversions to deliver essential goods upon which our economy relies.”

Phil Verster, route managing director for London North Eastern 

Landslip

The 1.4m tonnes landslip in February 2013 moved all four tracks vertically by five metres and laterally by 15 metres. The slip mainly contained mudstones, in both granular form and a fine slurry-like material which is formed during the washing and coal fines reclamation, known as MRF. The material which blocked the railway was supporting a 200,000m³ cell of MRF. This cell was around 20m deep and, due to the landslip, was falling in the direction of the railway lines which made the removal much more complex and prolonged. We've also moved the water main in order to create a space to which the MRF is being moved.

Reinstating the railway

We have to move approximately sixty thousand cubic metres more spoil before the work to reinstate the track can begin in the coming weeks. A section of around five hundred metres of all four lines will be replaced, including switches and crossings and the associated signalling and power supplies. Even then there will be more work to complete while trains run past the site.

Landscaping

We've bought new land at Ashfields to create new tipping sites. That land has been stripped of topsoil which will be used for landscaping once the tip is complete.

Work continues through the year

Work at Hatfield Colliery is not complete with our engineers likely to remain on site until the end of the year. Their work has been meticulously planned to allow safe running of trains while it is completed. The spoil heaps continue to be monitored as a precaution.
We've deferred a number of engineering projects to accommodate the services which were diverted during this disruption. However we have also used the opportunity to bring forward some other engineering work including track work at Stainforth, embankment work and planned project work.