ALL rail services into and out of Liverpool Lime Street were cancelled during the evening peak on February 28 after a wall collapsed in the cutting on the approach to the station.
Network Rail said the wall at the top of the cutting had been loaded with concrete and cabins by a third party, which then collapsed around 17.45 sending 200 tonnes of rubble onto the four tracks below. It also damaged the overhead live wires.
The site required an extensive clear up and repair, and was not expected to reopen until March 9.
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A Network Rail spokesperson said: “Our activities are in three steps: firstly, making the location safe. This will allow us to start step two, safely accessing the tracks below to clear the debris, before step three, repairing the damaged railway. Overnight we removed 60 tonnes of soil and five large containers, each holding many tonnes of material, from the top of the cutting, to prevent further slips.”
The closure of Lime Street caused major disruption as passengers had to travel via Merseyrail local trains and Liverpool South Parkway. TransPennine Express services terminated at Manchester Victoria and Piccadilly, with just a few running through to Liverpool South Parkway; East Midlands Trains terminated at Manchester Oxford Road; and London Midland trains ran to Liverpool South Parkway.
Northern advised passengers not to travel in the region, but ran a limited service between Wigan/Manchester Victoria to Huyton and from Manchester Oxford Road to Liverpool South Parkway. Virgin Trains ran as far as Runcorn with replacement buses to Lime Street. Buses also ran between Liverpool South Parkway and Huyton to Lime Street.
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