Carlisle train derailment: Services resume after cement wagon crash

A rail line closed when a freight train carrying cement derailed has reopened.

Wagons loaded with cement came off the tracks at Petteril Bridge Junction in Carlisle on 21 October.

Network Rail said it had taken 40 engineers and more than 25,000 hours of work to move them and restore the line.

The company said passengers on the Tyne Valley and Settle to Carlisle lines had been "incredibly generous in their patience" and it hoped they "won't have to suffer such an occasion again".

Work was needed to replace 80 metres of damaged track and rebuild the bridge foundations and parapet.

Network Rail senior programme manager Mark Evans said it had been a "particularly difficult" job.

"The environmental effects that could have occurred if the cement had got into the river was a real concern," he said.

The train travelling between Clitheroe and Carlisle had 14 wagons, each containing 80 tonnes of powdered cement

One fell into the River Petteril during the crash, which inspectors said was "almost certainly" caused by a damaged wheel hitting part of the track.

Network Rail said it hoped the work carried out to restore the line would prevent similar incidents in the future.

Mr Evans said it was not complete but engineers had managed to finish what was "essential for the safe operation of the railway".

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