Drills break through into busy London rail tunnel - 8 March 2013

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Rail staff spotted the drills which broke through into the tunnel

Two construction drills broke through into a railway tunnel in east London on a busy First Capital Connect route.

Services on the Moorgate to Finsbury Park route were stopped after a driver said muddy water had poured on to his roof near Old Street Station.

An hour later, at about 11:00 GMT, two piling drills came through as a train with only a driver and Network Rail manager approached to inspect the area.

The train operator said a "serious incident" had been averted.

The route on the Northern City line was closed after the incident on Friday morning and will remain closed over the weekend during investigations and while the damage is repaired.

British Transport Police has visited an office construction site located above the tunnel.

First Capital Connect managing director Neal Lawson said: "This was a serious incident that could have ended very differently had it not been for the vigilance and prompt reporting and actions of our drivers.

"We carry two million people a year on the Northern City Line and whoever is responsible for this must be held to account."

Network Rail route managing director Phil Verster said: "Our engineers are on site assessing the damage and we will restore the railway as soon as possible."

It is expected that the route will reopen on Monday.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Rail Accident Investigation Branch website:

Dangerous occurrence in a tunnel near Old Street station, in London, 8 March 2013

The RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) is investigating an incident that occurred on the morning of 8 March 2013 in one of the two single bore tunnels between Old Street and Essex Road stations.

At 10:09 hrs the driver of train 2V16, the 10:02 hrs service from Moorgate to Welwyn Garden City, reported that water was gushing from the roof of the tunnel. As a consequence the driver of the following train, which was running without passengers onboard, was cautioned and asked to examine the line. When the train was about 420 metres north of Old Street station, the driver (and a Network Rail Mobile Operations Manager who accompanied him) saw two large metallic objects that had apparently fallen from a hole in the roof of the tunnel, one of which was in contact with the live conductor rail. These were later identified as sections of an auger (drill) that had penetrated the tunnel lining before falling onto the track. Each section measured approximately two metres in length and was 0.35 metres in diameter.

Immediate checks revealed that the augering operation was associated with construction activity on land about 13 metres above the top of the tunnel.


Image of incident location near Old Street station

The RAIB^s investigation will include a review of the information that was available to those responsible for the safety of the construction activity and the way in which the risk created by construction activities near to railway tunnels is currently managed.

The RAIB^s investigation is independent of any investigation by the Health and Safety Executive or the Office of Rail Regulation.

The RAIB will publish its findings, including any recommendations to improve safety, at the conclusion of its investigation. This report will be available on the RAIB website.

[grahame]

Not unique, it seems

http://www.tunnelsonline.info/news/new-york-train-hit-by-drill-4429266?

USA - A construction drill bit broke into a tunnel under New York and hit the side of a train early this month. According to the city^s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) the accident was caused by human error, rather than faulty equipment. The drill operator broke through approximately 7ft (2m) away from his intended position.

[Pb_devon]

The RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) investigation report is here http://raib.gov.uk/publications/investigation_reports/reports_2014/report032014.cfm

Has anyone seen if a prosecution followed?

[grahame]

Happened again ... The Telegraph

Tube chaos after contractors drill hole through tunnel roof
Central Line services suspended between Marble Arch and White City

[chrisr_75]

And courtesy of the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) a candidate for another popular thread on the forum, anyone spot the problem on this page:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-35636249

[JayMac]

The scantily clad lingerie models on the Westfield billboards in one of the item's included images?

I don't have a problem with them.   

The other image perhaps? Showing 2009 Jubilee Line stock rather than 1992 Central Line.

[stuving]

The scantily clad lingerie models on the Westfield billboards in one of the item's included images?

I don't have a problem with them.   

I did wonder whether captioning that picture with "Contractors working at Westfield Shopping Centre drilled the hole" might be derogatory - but I can't work out to whom.

[chrisr_75]

The scantily clad lingerie models on the Westfield billboards in one of the item's included images?

I don't have a problem with them.   

The other image perhaps? Showing 2009 Jubilee Line stock rather than 1992 Central Line.

I didn't realise there was a lingerie model thread on here!!

But yes, wrong tube stock in the pic - I think it's actually the current Victoria line stock

[Adelante_CCT]

The other image perhaps? Showing 2009 Jubilee Line stock rather than 1992 Central Line.

But yes, wrong tube stock in the pic - I think it's actually the current Victoria line stock

Yes, its the Victoria Line 2009 stock, Jubilee stock was 1996.... Now for the next question, where?

[chrisr_75]

The other image perhaps? Showing 2009 Jubilee Line stock rather than 1992 Central Line.

But yes, wrong tube stock in the pic - I think it's actually the current Victoria line stock

Yes, its the Victoria Line 2009 stock, Jubilee stock was 1996.... Now for the next question, where?

Erm, well, it's definitely the Victoria line as the pale blue is visible along the top of the platform backwall. Alas, the picture has been moved on from the article, so we will never know!

[stuving]

And here's another example of drillers who just can't leave tunnels alone - this time in Paris. Yesterday lunchtime, a small hole appeared in the RER A tunnel west of Auber. This was "exploratory drilling" for the RER E (Eole) western extension from S Lazare; presumably this exploration was a success - at least in the sense that they now know what is down there.

While it was small (15 cm), it allowed a load of muddy water in. According to RATP they will plug the hole, once they have "visibility" of it. The line should reopen sometime tomorrow.

[stuving]

And here's another example of drillers who just can't leave tunnels alone - this time in Paris. Yesterday lunchtime, a small hole appeared in the RER A tunnel west of Auber. This was "exploratory drilling" for the RER E (Eole) western extension from S Lazare; presumably this exploration was a success - at least in the sense that they now know what is down there.

While it was small (15 cm), it allowed a load of muddy water in. According to RATP they will plug the hole, once they have "visibility" of it. The line should reopen sometime tomorrow.

While the line didn't open yesterday, they have got it going again from this morning. RATP had to wait for the hole to be plugged - they had told Bouyges and their mates "your 'ole, you fill it!". Having resorted to a suitably technical version of stuffing newspapers into the gap, and used a third of a ton of resin, the track has been rendered slurry-free. I did see some suggestions that the tunnels itself might need repair or reinforcement, but I think they can survive with weak patches rather better than you'd imagine, at least if they aren't too deep.