Government confirms flood damage fund for railways

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has said that £31 million will be made available to protect vulnerable rail infrastructure from further flooding.

The Government has said it will fund 10 rail resilience projects designed to avoid the disruption caused by widespread flooding of the network in the future.

Work will be carried out at:

• Cowley Bridge Junction
• Chipping Sodbury
• Hinksey
• Whiteball Tunnel South
• Athley – Cogload
• Hele Bradninch
• Flax Bourton
• Patchway up Tunnel
• earthworks strengthening at Honiton and Crewkern

Following high winds over night, Network Rail is now having to repair damaged overhead lines on the East Coast main line north of York.

In Dawlish, 11 shipping containers have been welded together to create a temporary sea wall while engineers repair a severely damaged section of line along the sea front.

Services have been cancelled between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings where the line has been shut because of a series of landslips, which Network Rail has said could take ‘weeks to repair’.

There is some good news, however, as the line between Oxford and Didcot has been reopened, with flooding now cleared.




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