A hole lot of bother (From Ledbury Reporter)
Get involved! Send your photos, video, news & views by texting MG NEWS to 80360 or e-mail us
A hole lot of bother
8:24am Friday 29th June 2012 in News
DEEP: A Network Rail engineer works on a hole that emerged under the track at Colwall train station. 26070503.
HUNDREDS of rail commuters had their journeys disrupted after a hole appeared under the track at Colwall station.
The hole was spotted just before 8am on Monday as the driver of a Hereford to Birmingham service pulled into the station.
Engineers rushed to examine the hole, which was initially one-and-a-half feet deep and got bigger as the morning went on.
Services were disrupted between Worcester Shrub Hill and Hereford.
At Great Malvern, commuters were told it could take couple of hours for services to resume, and London Midland staff began to arrange buses and taxis.
John Raine, a Birmingham University professor from West Malvern, said: “All staff could tell us at first was that trains had been stopped so that safety checks could be carried out.”
Network Rail spokesman Keith Lumley said emergency repairs were made and services were fully restored by mid-afternoon.
He said: “The hole had been created by water washing away the ballast.”
