Viaduct parapet fails
Main line reduced to single line working for a month to repair viaduct.
OPERATION of a section of the East Coast Main Line between Newcastleupon-Tyne and Morpeth was reduced to a single line in October, following the discovery of an unstable parapet on Plessey Viaduct, writes Chris Milner.
The affected parapet is on the northeast end of the viaduct adjacent to the up line. The viaduct is situated just north of Cramlington station, and was designed and built in the late 1840s by George Stephenson. Its twin tracks span the River Blyth.
The discovery was made over the weekend of October 7/8 during track renewals, and Network Rail stress the structural integrity of the viaduct is unaffected. Single line working at reduced speed was introduced on the down line between Morpeth and the Plessey crossover, just south of the damaged viaduct, and was planned to continue to November 6 as this issue went to press.
To effect repairs, 200 metres of the up line was removed from the viaduct to allow engineers to rebuild the parapet from the arch upwards. The actual repairs are being carried out overnight to minimise disruption, and will involve the installation of precast concrete units as well as steel pinning to strengthen the parapet.
Because of the restricted capacity, train services were altered and TransPennine Express ran replacement bus services between Newcastle and Berwick. LNER operated fewer trains between Newcastle and Edinburgh, but no LNER service called at
Morpeth in the southbound direction. Northern’s hourly service between Newcastle and Morpeth was mostly cancelled with the exception of some early morning and late evening trains.