Posted 15th February 2013 | 3 Comments

Midland Main Line repairs to continue into weekend

NETWORK RAIL is hoping to fully reopen the Midland Main Line at Radlett later this weekend, but repair work will not restart until Saturday night.

Work will not take place tonight (Friday) at the request of train operators, who need to run services late tonight that would have to be cancelled if engineers were on the line.

The main line was completely blocked in Hertfordshire when a kilometre of overhead lines collapsed on Wednesday. All four lines through Radlett were open today, but the up fast line was still not electrified. This affected First Capital Connect for a third day running, although services have returned to near normal.

A spokesman for Network Rail said it was hard for the company to respond to claims from the RMT that the problem had been caused by what the union alleged were 'maintenance cutbacks', because the cause of the failure has not yet been identified. An investigation is underway, and the spokesman said sections of the cable would be given 'exhaustive forensic tests' in a bid to establish why the catenary collapsed.

Reader Comments:

Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.

  • Leslie burge, leicester

    Lets hope that Midland Mainline electrification is done to the highest standards possible so that these type of events are kept to an absolute minimum.

  • Tim, Devon

    You can always stick a diesel loco on the front and tow an electric train when the lines go down.
    The pollution savings alone are worth the hassle of electrification. It's not just about CO2, diesel emissions kill people. London has the worst air quality in Europe.

  • Tony Pearce, Reading

    I'm not a total fan of electrification. I know they can result in quicker trains and cost less because the trains are lighter and don't have to carry their own fuel around. But they don't seem as flexible as the go-anywhere diesel electrics DMUs such as Cross-Country use which can divert to any line if there are problems. There does often seem also to be a problem with the 'wires' catching on Pantographs or being brought down by wind, rain and snow.