2017 Liverpool Lime Street wall collapse

The 2017 Liverpool Lime Street wall collapse occurred on 28 February 2017 outside Liverpool's main railway station, Lime Street. A 200-tonne[1] section of embankment wall collapsed onto all four of the tracks running into the throat of the station,[1]- which has been called 'one of the busiest in the North of England'[2][3]- as well as damaging infrastructure.[4]

Events

The collapse, which happened at about 17:45,[5] put trains at a stand-still for three hours,[4] with three needing to be evacuated.[6] A commuter train had recently passed beneath the area of the fall, which led to the RMT trades union to claim that 'at least one train was seconds away from colliding with the collapse.'[6] Network Rail, who owned the wall, stated that an unnamed third-party had loaded the wall with what it described as 'concrete and cabins,'[1] with five containers 'each holding many tonnes of material.'[6]

Network Rail launched a simultaneous investigation and clear-up operation; the latter, they said, would prevent train movements in and out of the station for at least the following week.[1] The operation proceeded in three stages: ensuring there was no further danger of landfall, clearing the rubble and rubbish, and finally repairing the tracks[4] and overhead lines.[1] Within two days, over sixty tonnes of earth and rubbish had been removed,[4] although it was also suggested that the operation might need to take longer, depending on whether the whole wall needed rebuilding.[7]

The lines were cleared and the station reopened a day earlier than predicted on 8 March.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Liverpool Lime Street wall collapse: 60 tonnes cleared from tracks". 2 March 2017 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  2. ↑ Barrett, Frances (3 March 2017). "When will Liverpool Lime Street reopen after wall collapse?".
  3. ↑ "Liverpool Lime Street station shut ‘for days’ after wall collapse".
  4. 1 2 3 4 Smith, Kevin. "Landslip set to close Liverpool Lime Street for nine days".
  5. ↑ "Train passengers face days of disruption after Liverpool wall collapse".
  6. 1 2 3 "Liverpool Lime Street accident: Train 'seconds away' from colliding with tonnes of rubble, union claims".
  7. ↑ Houghton, Alistair (1 March 2017). "Collapsed Lime Street wall 'could take weeks to fix', engineer warns".
  8. ↑ "Liverpool Lime Street wall collapse: Station to reopen a day early". 7 March 2017.

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