Network Rail has finished the project which saw work carried out which will provide improved resilience for the railway at Lochailort in the West Highlands

The programme of work got underway in February and saw Network Rail and supply chain partner QTS continue previous activity which took place at the location during the summer of 2020 when severe weather caused flash flooding which washed away 80 metres of the railway.

The first stage of the work saw the installation of a new concrete drainage tunnel or culvert next to the current Allt na Criche bridge that carries the Allt na Criche burn beneath the railway.

Engineers carried out the removal of 800 tonnes of material from the existing railway embankment to prepare for the installation of the new culvert. Most of the material removed was recycled at the site for use in other areas of the project.

The culvert weighs in at 63.3 tonnes and was installed during spring with a 78-hour period of around-the-clock working. The culvert was made up of four precast sections and took ten lifts using a 250-tonne crane to complete the installation. Once the installation was complete, the area was backfilled with 450 tonnes of stone around the culvert in order to raise it back to track level.

Once the railway embankment was reinstated, the project went on to see 40 Metres of new track laid on 200 tonnes of new ballast. A new Terramesh bund measuring 112 metres long, 2.3 metres high and 5.3 metres wide at its base was also created and will help protect the railway and the land which surrounds it from future flooding.

Jeremy Spence, Network Rail’s programme manager for the work, said: “Our work on the Mallaig line at Lochailort was a significant undertaking, given the sheer size of the culvert and the scale of the excavation involved.

“The successful delivery of the work and the significant benefits this project delivers will help tackle severe weather incidents that are increasingly frequently presenting challenges to the railway industry.

“By protecting the railway from extreme weather events, we also mitigate the risk of the impact of this for passengers, freight customers and lineside neighbours.

“I would like to thank our contractor QTS as well as the local community for their patience and support while we delivered this critical improvement to Scotland‘s Railway”.

Andy Steel, QTS operations director, said: “The work carried out at Lochailort over the last five months has hugely improved the resilience of Scotland’s Railway for years to come.

“Our team undertook some important work during this period, including the installation of a structure that will help manage water flow to safeguard the integrity of the railway during heavy rainfall.

“We appreciate the patience of the lineside neighbours and the travelling public during this works.”

For more information about the project, please get in touch with Network Rail using its 24-hour helpline on 03457 11 41 41 or via http://www.scotlandsrailway.com