Network Rail is working to protect the Chase line in Staffordshire where they have been upgrading a culvert near Cannock.

During the work, Network Rail ecologists have rescued 22 white clawed crayfish and 430 uncommon fish.

The £700,000 upgrade work will protect the tracks above and make sure people can get to where they need to be. The original culvert was Victorian built and was beginning to bow under the pressure from diverting Wash Brook.

The culvert is being lined with Glass Reinforced Plastic piping to protect the structure from further damage.

To complete the work, sections needed to be winched in to be put into position, meaning that the watercourse needed to be drained.

Network Rail brought in ecologists to ensure that no wildlife was harmed in the process. Fish were safely caught through electrofishing, which slows the fish down to avoid distressing them as the water was slowly drained.

The fish caught were released further downstream after being logged for presence in the system.

Network Rail were also securing the banks to avoid the water flooding into nearby gardens.

The work on the Chase line will be carried out until October.

Andrew Campuzano, Network Rail ecologist, said: “We weren’t expecting to find white clawed crayfish here, and because they are so rare, we notified the Environment Agency then took extra care to relocate them downstream.

“This has been a complex project to help water flow more freely under the railway to protect the Chase line above and provide a more reliable railway for passengers and freight. We do all of this in tandem with making sure any work we do has minimal impact on the environment.”

Mike Lally, Network Rail Works Delivery manager, said: “This has been a challenging job and it’s one of the first I’ve done using Glass Reinforced Plastic to line a culvert like this. It’s all be done in collaboration with the Environment Agency and our ecologists overseeing the work to make sure it has the least impact on the brook itself.

“We’ve been scoping this job for a couple of years so it’s great to get in and get it done while at the same time securing the banks from erosion and protecting our railway neighbours’ gardens.”