Might the Whitehaven tunnel issues result in closure? Could Whitehaven be brought back into use? And other speculation on this issue...

[Bletchleyite]

So staff who live in (say) Barrow still need to get to Millom and Whitehaven.

If part of the line was closed, I suspect it would be west of Millom rather than west of Barrow. Millom is still a reasonably sized place, whereas there's nothing even remotely big between Millom and Whitehaven except for Egremont, which is better served by bus because it's a fair way inland of the line but straddles the main road. If only we could do proper integration in this country...

As to the wrong line being closed, I could certainly see the combination of a Penrith-Keswick-Cockermouth-Whitehaven branch and a Lancaster-Millom one doing a lot better than what is there now, tunnel or no.

 

[Pinus contorta]

All this speculation about the line closing beyond Millom north to Sellafield doesn't take into account the need ( eventually) to shift some of the waste ( or all of it) to the GDF Geological Disposal Facility if this doesnt end up being in spitting distance of the current storage. For example if the GDF was sited south of Ravenglass the A595 road drops down and climbs up to cross over the River Esk which is currently rather steep and prone to flooding at high tide.

 

[AndrewE]

All this speculation about the line closing beyond Millom north to Sellafield doesn't take into account the need ( eventually) to shift some of the waste ( or all of it) to the GDF Geological Disposal Facility if this doesnt end up being in spitting distance of the current storage. For example if the GDF was sited south of Ravenglass the A595 road drops down and climbs up to cross over the River Esk which is currently rather steep and prone to flooding at high tide.

good point.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I can't see the locals going for that particular route - and that green bit to SW of the harbour is actually the top part of quite a steep hill.
Not to mention the various boats you are going over in West Strand !
A flatter route would be curving around to run on the southern side of the harbour, but would still end up as "on-road" running ...

Well, it was only an approximate route anyway - and yes, I thought about the inland side of the harbour, but I was trying to avoid destroying part of the town and also avoiding any on street running, though I guess you could get away with running "traims" from Carlisle to Lancaster via the coast as long as they were more train like inside than the 399s are...

 

[HSTEd]

All this speculation about the line closing beyond Millom north to Sellafield doesn't take into account the need ( eventually) to shift some of the waste ( or all of it) to the GDF Geological Disposal Facility if this doesnt end up being in spitting distance of the current storage. For example if the GDF was sited south of Ravenglass the A595 road drops down and climbs up to cross over the River Esk which is currently rather steep and prone to flooding at high tide.

Leaving aside that the most probable site for the GDF (at this time) is adjacent to Sellafield, it would be a bit silly to keep a railway line open because a potential disposal facility might make use of it for flask trains out of Sellafield to the site sometime in the 2080s. And I think that many people in the industry would question whether any material will move out this side of 2100. Every year of delay reduces the cost of the repository because the heat load falls and thus less excavated volume will be required to meet heat limits.

Even then. road movement of this material is well practiced and has decades of experience, after all. The rate of emplacement at any such facility will be very slow in any case.

 

[thenorthern]

From BBC News this morning:

No end in sight for railway tunnel repairs​

Repairs to a railway tunnel have been delayed with no reopening date set, Network Rail has said.
Bransty tunnel, between Whitehaven and Corkickle on the Cumbrian Coast Line, shut in the summer after engineers found its floor needed "significant reinforcement". Bosses initially expected it to remain closed until Easter.

Passengers on the line, which serves two major employers in the county, Sellafield and BAE, have been using replacement buses for almost a year.

A permanent repair solution had been agreed, but Network Rail said it was waiting on permits to be agreed with partners the Mining Remediation Authority and the Environment Agency for work to begin.

"This is to align the necessary environmental consents so that water contamination issues can be addressed alongside the repairs," a Network Rail spokesperson said.

The tunnel was connected with orange water at Whitehaven Harbour and works were planned to tackle issues.
However, tests to assess weight limits for the heavy machinery needed revealed issues with the floor strength, prompting the months-long closure.

Network Rail said it had completed "detailed inspections and a permanent repair solution has been independently verified".
It plans to use specialist grout to stabilise the tunnel and pressure relief wells to reduce groundwater pressure and manage the volume of water entering the tunnel.

Track and drainage renewal work is also planned.

It added that in the interest of saving taxpayer costs, it would take a "minimal viable product approach" which included using smaller drilling, grouting and treatment areas and fewer relief wells within the tunnel.

A spokesperson said: "We're sorry for the delay in reopening the Bransty tunnel for passengers who rely on this important route."
They also said a further update would be provided when it could "be clear on the timeline of what happens next".

No end in sight for Bransty railway tunnel repairs

Bransty tunnel, between Whitehaven and Corkickle, shut in the summer over problems with the floor.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Straus]

Grouting works seem to have pretty extensive durations - I'd estimate upwards of 6 months with all the difficulties in access etc here - so even if they started tomorrow it'd likely remain closed at Christmas (assuming new track & drainage works are required once the mining / water situation is sorted)

 

[Minnietheminx]

Don't know if anyone else has noticed, but on Journeycheck's Northern page, the tunnel work was moved from the 'line updates' to the 'improvement works' section of the page, with an expected re-opening date of 13 December 2026 (so, the timetable change)

 

[Harpo]

It’s interesting to note that RTC has charters planned to run the whole length of the Cumbrian coast in June and August. I hope RTC is being served well by NR’s charter train unit on this.

We have a high-speed journey down the West Coast Main Line to Carlisle, hauled by a blue Class 86 electric locomotive. We then enjoy a steam tour from Carlisle back to Carnforth via the Cumbria Coast.

UK Steam Rail Day Trips and Worldwide Rail Holidays

The Railway Touring Company has a long established reputation for providing an interesting variety of UK day trips by steam train and tours in the UK, Europe and Worldwide.

www.railwaytouring.net

 

[The Planner]

It’s interesting to note that RTC has charters planned to run the whole length of the Cumbrian coast in June and August. I hope RTC is being served well by NR’s charter train unit on this.

UK Steam Rail Day Trips and Worldwide Rail Holidays

The Railway Touring Company has a long established reputation for providing an interesting variety of UK day trips by steam train and tours in the UK, Europe and Worldwide.

www.railwaytouring.net

They will be well aware of the restrictions.

 

[yoyothehobo]

They will be well aware of the restrictions.

Does that include a rail replacement hike?

 

[MadMac]

Does that include a rail replacement hike?

Don’t give them ideas…..

 

[Starmill]

Don't know if anyone else has noticed, but on Journeycheck's Northern page, the tunnel work was moved from the 'line updates' to the 'improvement works' section of the page, with an expected re-opening date of 13 December 2026 (so, the timetable change)

I believe that's actually a statement that the tunnel won't open during the May timetable. It doesn't mean, unhappily, that the tunnel is actually expected to reopen on the first day of the new timetable.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

They will be well aware of the restrictions.

So, another excursion train operating at the far end of the tunnel?

 

[The Planner]

So, another excursion train operating at the far end of the tunnel?

No idea, but its clearly just going to be a conversation along the lines of "the tunnel is shut, what do you want to do?"

 

[Straus]

No idea, but its clearly just going to be a conversation along the lines of "the tunnel is shut, what do you want to do?"

I misread this, my mind swapped a u for an i, still made sense.

 

[MadMac]

Grouting works seem to have pretty extensive durations - I'd estimate upwards of 6 months with all the difficulties in access etc here - so even if they started tomorrow it'd likely remain closed at Christmas (assuming new track & drainage works are required once the mining / water situation is sorted)

Quite. Newton Street Tunnel in Greenock was originally envisaged as six weeks and ended up at about 18 months.

 

[Pinus contorta]

So, another excursion train operating at the far end of the tunnel?

How does that work if theres a delay? It would cause havoc with Single line working on the Northern services with little scope for recovery.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

How does that work if theres a delay? It would cause havoc with Single line working on the Northern services with little scope for recovery.

Is there room for a second excursion train to wait in the sidings at Sellafield until just before it's needed at Corkickle?

 

[Pinus contorta]

Is there room for a second excursion train to wait in the sidings at Sellafield until it's needed at Corkickle?

Yea i suppose that might work. Those Saturday excursions always ran Carlisle to Carnforth before the tunnel problem. Still seems a bit of a financial non starter to convey people from either end of the tunnel though.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Yea i suppose that might work. Those Saturday excursions always ran Carlisle to Carnforth before the tunnel problem. Still seems a bit of a financial non starter to convey people from either end of the tunnel though.

Indeed. Think there's a 90 minute window, late afternoon, when there's nothing in section between Sellafield and Corkickle. It's only a ~20 minute journey between these stations, so it's do-able.

 

[Dave61]

Yea i suppose that might work. Those Saturday excursions always ran Carlisle to Carnforth before the tunnel problem. Still seems a bit of a financial non starter to convey people from either end of the tunnel though.

If it is anything like our trip on the LakeLander last year, closer to the date and no sign of the tunnel opening (!) yet then the trip will become a Carlise - Settle on the return from Carlise. I think they must plan in hope of it being fixed sometime. I know we will be on a trip once it is.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Yea I suppose that might work. Those Saturday excursions always ran Carlisle to Carnforth before the tunnel problem. Still seems a bit of a financial non starter to convey people from either end of the tunnel though.

They could double tour it... one lot of passengers going clockwise round the coast and the other lot going anticlockwise, swapping between the rakes at the obstruction point.

 

[Strathclyder]

Quite. Newton Street Tunnel in Greenock was originally envisaged as six weeks and ended up at about 18 months.

Was looking into this as I don't remember any tunnel closure in Strathclyde lasting that long in recent years, especially on such a busy line. Turns out the repairs were carried out between 1993 and March 1995 and the initial damage was due to a fault line the tunnel was built on shifting; single track working had been in place since at least 1991, though issues with this tunnel were known about since at least the late 60s (when the line was electrified). Estimated repair cost initially was £3.5m, ended up being closer to £4m when all was said and done.

Here's how an 'ancient fault line' kept local rail stations shut for 18 months

In the latest edition of Talk of the Towns, we take a look back at a saga which saw the Newton Street railway tunnel closed for months

www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk

(Greenock Telegraph article dated from February 2025 detailing the closure)

 

[Dave61]

They could double tour it... one lot of passengers going clockwise round the coast and the other lot going anticlockwise, swapping between the rakes at the obstruction point.

Can those stations accommodate a 10 or 12 coach train? They usually top and tail so no need for locomotive run rounds.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Can those stations accommodate a 10 or 12 coach train? They usually top and tail so no need for locomotive run rounds.

I doubt it... I was just responding to the suggestion someone made of splitting a tour across two different rakes.

 

[MadMac]

Was looking into this as I don't remember any tunnel closure in Strathclyde lasting that long in recent years, especially on such a busy line. Turns out the repairs were carried out between 1993 and March 1995 and the initial damage was due to a fault line the tunnel was built on shifting; single track working had been in place since at least 1991. Estimated repair cost initially was £3.5m, ended up being closer to £4m when all was said and done.

Here's how an 'ancient fault line' kept local rail stations shut for 18 months

In the latest edition of Talk of the Towns, we take a look back at a saga which saw the Newton Street railway tunnel closed for months

www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk

(Greenock Telegraph article dated from February 2025 detailing the closure)

I was on that job from the signals side. They had to replace some of the cabling dating from 25 years previously, get new (stainless steel) cases for in the tunnel and the contractor cracked the case of the electromechanical banner repeater at Fort Matilda: they had to spring for a fibre optic replacement and associated design work. There was also a little running stream of water about halfway through that was about as pure as possible: I suggested bottling it and selling it as “Newton Spring“…..

 

[stevie2006]

An FOI about the tunnel looks to have got some additional documents / photos. One of the documents is 118 pages so must be something of interest within it!
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/information_regarding_bransty_tu#incoming-3412447

 

[35B]

The link didn't work for me - after fiddling round, I found that https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/information_regarding_bransty_tu#incoming-3412447 worked

 

[stevie2006]

The link didn't work for me - after fiddling round, I found that https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/information_regarding_bransty_tu#incoming-3412447 worked

Thanks, updated