[full]The storms that cut off rail links to Cornwall and much of Devon from the rest of the country have raised some fundamental questions about the resilience of our transport systems in bad weather.
The dramatic images of the rail line suspended above the sea at Dawlish have captured the headlines, but research findings of the industry’s regulator shows underlying vulnerabilities, because of delays in maintenance and drainage work.
The Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR) has said that Network Rail, which is responsible for the railway tracks, was behind in 16% of its plans to renew embankments and cuttings.
And last year it said 40% of all the network’s earthworks had not been assessed, despite 180 earthwork failures occurring in 2012 and 2013.
The regulator’s reports described this number as “large”. Since then there have been more than 30 landslides affecting rail journeys in just a few weeks, as rain weakens steep-sided slopes.
The ORR told the BBC that Network Rail was moving in the right direction, but had not done enough to understand or attend to the condition of these vital assets, which hold up thousands of miles of track.
“There is more we can do – that’s why we asked the regulator for extra funding in the coming five-year period,” said Kevin Groves of Network Rail.
“And there are examples of very practical, tangible things we’re doing to make our railway more resilient, but with the size of the network that we have it takes time,” he added.
Rail is key to moving freight around as well as passengers, so there is a wider economic implication for track failure from flooding or collapse.
That is an argument being made by city authorities in Oxford who say damage to rail and road infrastructure is hitting their local economy hard.[/full]
Osney Industrial Estate was one of several areas in Oxford badly affected by the floods
[full]The estimated cost of flooding on two main roads, which caused gridlock in the centre, was more than £40m, according to the leader of the city council. And he said that was just for one week.[/full]
