Rail replacement buses are now running between Sellafield and Workington after Bransty Tunnel has been closed until further notice. There is however no risk of passengers finding themselves seated next to a displaced nuclear flask. Specialist freight movements continue from the south. Nevertheless, rail access via Whitehaven is suspended pending ground‑strengthening work.
Services carrying nuclear flasks to Sellafield are disrupted while Network Rail investigates unstable ground beneath the one‑kilometre tunnel under Whitehaven town. Freight customers and passenger services are being rerouted as plans for repair are finalised. As to when services may resume through the tunnel, engineers admit they are in the dark at this time.
Disrupted freight flows
Bransty Tunnel, the one‑kilometre tunnel running under Whitehaven between the main station and Corkickle station, was closed after survey work last week revealed subsurface weakness under the trackbed. The tunnel is named after the neighbourhood under which it traverses.
Network Rail, the infrastructure agency, had planned full track and drainage renewal in August and September, but preliminary weight tests of plant and machinery uncovered zones requiring strengthening before on‑track machinery can operate safely.
Operational impact on nuclear flask trains
The closure halts all trains, including nuclear flask trains operated by Direct Rail Services (DRS) to Sellafield via Whitehaven. Trains to the Low Level Waste Repository at Drigg are similarly suspended or redirected. Nuclear flask services from the Barrow‑in‑Furness dock or other power stations normally reach Sellafield via the Brantsy Tunnel. With that route closed, flask trains must divert via the south, which remains open via Lancaster and the West Coast Main Line.
While southern access to Sellafield remains operational, the diversion adds mileage and time to sensitive movements. Freight operators must liaise closely with Network Rail to plan revised paths and availability. DRS is working with infrastructure teams and freight customers to agree on alternative routing and minimise the risk of delay to Sellafield’s reprocessing logistics. Timetabled flask slots may shift or run outside usual pathing windows.
Buses this time – but bus replacement trains in the past
Network Rail has arranged rail replacement buses between Sellafield and Workington to maintain a connection over the closed section. It’s not the first time the line has suffered disconnection. However, in the past, rail has come to the rescue. Famously, after a flood in November 2009, railway engineers rapidly built a temporary station named “Workington North” when that town’s road bridges were washed away.
That station was built in less than a week. Some observers wryly suggested all station projects should suffer a flood to speed up their implementation. As for Brantsy Tunnel, the three‑week renewal originally scheduled from late August may now be delayed. Engineers must complete extra ground strengthening before resuming track replacement work. Precise timing remains under discussion.