Ameecher wrote:There was some doubt from "people in the know" as to whether the train had damaged the points. They may have been missing but it is hard to tell if it was caused by the train or were like that before hand, if the last time an inspection had taken place 3 weeks ago, hundreds of trains must have passed over it safely.
Each train that passed would have separated the switch rails in the point a little further. Once they were so far apart that they were closed against both stock rails, the next train would find itself between rails that converge over just a few metres. Since the wheels of a train do not converge, every last coach of that train will have been lifted out of the switch an allowed to run free. The nature of a switch like that means that the train will have intruded on the other running line after derailing. If a train had been coming the other way, there would have been a collision, almost head-on.
On another note, when will this section of the WCML reopen and what is happening at the moment? Are any Pendos running on the S&C?
At the very least two weeks, according to RAIB's estimate. The remaining (previously undamaged) spacer bars on the points were fractured by the train's flanges. The stock rails
and the normal CWRs following have been heavily damaged, on boththe up and down lines. The up line catenary has been wiped out, and the down line catenary was also heavily damaged. Added to this, there's still a buggered Pendy sprawled all over the place. So, the line will be re-opened when:
- The scene is officially declared not a crime scene
- The train has been removed
- The tracks, points and catenary have been rebuilt
I don't know what rail stock is running where, but Virgin have released printed timetables which include the bus between Lancaster or Preston and Carlisle. It's not going to be a quick fix.
Owen: Your anti-spam measures return false on posts this long.
