Lime Street track cleared, repairs begin
All the rubble has been cleared off the four lines at the bottom of the deep cutting, and work to repair and replace damaged track and overhead lines is now underway. Services at Lime Street station are expected to resume on Thursday, according to a statement by Network Rail.
No trains have run in or out of Lime Street since a section of cutting wall collapsed on Tuesday 28 February evening sending 200 tonnes of rubble across the tracks and taking down overhead wires.
Network Rail is working with Northern, London Midland, TransPennine Express, Virgin Trains and East Midlands Trains to keep customers, including football and fight fans, on the move. Train customers are advised to check before they travel at nationalrail.co.uk, and with train operators, for the latest information.
Network Rail’s orange army engineers are working to a three-step plan to reopen Lime Street on Thursday.
Firstly, they are making safe the location by removing 4,000 tonnes of material from the top of the cutting. They are now beginning step two – clearing the debris from the tracks more than 10 metres below. After that, step three – repairing damage to the railway so trains can run again.