OTHER NEWS - Drax rail link fully repaired and koi carp saved after floods

The line into Drax Power Station was inundated with flood water in February when the nearby River Aire burst its banks.

Several Koi Carp were affected too.

With the Selby plant supplying 5% of the UK’s electricity, it was vital to keep services moving while repair work was carried out.

Engineers have been deployed on 24-hour-a-day shifts to maintain the constant safety reassurance required to keep freight trains running.

Chris Gee, Head of Operations for Network Rail’s North and East Route, said:

“This was an unprecedented operation to deal with an unprecedented situation.

It’s never been more important for us to keep freight services running, so we pulled out all the stops to maintain this vital link while we conducted repair work at the same time.

Our teams have worked non-stop to make sure that crucial deliveries of biomass have been able to run despite severe flooding, which has been incredibly important to keep the nation powered up."

One of two lines leading in and out of Drax Power Station near Selby had to close in February when water from the nearby River Aire flooded the area.

It also affected the very infrequent passenger services from Snaith to Leeds and Goole.

But engineers were able to keep one route open to allow vital freight services transporting sustainable biomass to keep the nation powered up during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The damaged line has now reopened following significant repair work by Network Rail.

Deliveries were maintained while the work took place, with over 90 freight trains per week transporting sustainable biomass to the plant.

The emergency repair work cost £300,000 and included unconventional methods to make sure that the line could reopen as quickly as possible.

This included using a team of divers to inspect structures which were underwater to check for damage, as well as flying drones and helicopters along the route to assess the extent of the damage.

Significant repair work to the track needed to take place before it could reopen, such as replacing ballast, the stones, which support the track, after sections of it were washed away by flood water.

The team faced an additional challenge when they discovered that several Koi Carp from a nearby private residence were on the railway, when the pond they were in also flooded.

Network Rail teams worked closely with the landowner to safely transport them home.

Nigel Adams (Selby MP) said:

“The flooding in February showed how important it is to respond immediately to flooding events when roads are closed, homes flooded and in this case the railway line delivering biomass fuel to Drax Power Station was damaged.

Fortunately, Drax Power Station was able to continue to generate electricity because Network Rail responded immediately by introducing emergency operational procedures.

I am delighted that Network Rail have now completed the repair of the embankment and the line is back to two track working."

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