SETTLE AND CARLISLE REBUILDS

THEO STEEL looks at the prospects for this scene route

The geography and geology of the spectacular Settle to Carlisle railway make this a challenging stretch of line to operate. The Eden Brows formation failure in February 2016 was the latest in a series of challenges the line has faced. The formation was rebuilt to schedule and the line was reopened throughout in March 2017; the cost was £24 million. The tone of the excellent Settle and Carlisle line Development Company website is very positive in terms of the work done by Network Rail, incidentally.

The Eden Brows incident followed landslips in 1995 and 1999 that resulted in derailments (and in the former case, a fatality). Many of the embankments and cuttings are visibly supported and monitored closely.

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