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Hatfield landslip February 2013
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=2013-03-20a.317.0 In February 2013 a significant landslip from a coal slag heap [mainly mudstone in mix of granular and slurry-like material that was formed from washing and coal fines reclamation operations]

Described as possibly the largest and most significant landslide in the UK for a decade or more.

landslips of mining waste are rare events in the United Kingdom following legislation introduced in the aftermath of the Aberfan disaster.

at the Hatfield Colliery closed the portion of line shared with the Sheffield to Hull line between Hatfield and Stainforth railway station and Thorne South/Thorne North.

First report of a "bumpy ride" reported by a driver passing over the area on Saturday, before line closed on as the slide began to deform the tracks. Eventually the 200m slip moved the tracks 5m vertically and 15m laterally. Thought to have been caused by a Bearing capacity failure, with the ground supporting the slope failing in a rotational manner. weakened sediments under the tip during the wet weather of 2012.

Bus replacements between Goole and Doncaster and Scunthorpe and Doncaster stations, the buses leave hourly. Line re-opened on 8 July 2013 following the removal of one million cubic metres of material. Hatfield colliery, which is owned by ING Bank and operated under contract by Hargreaves Services plc, declined to comment on the work. No figures have been put against the repair work, or details released of who will be liable for the cost. Thought the total repair bill will run into tens of millions of pounds.

Initially thought repairs would take until September for the line to reopen, however it was repaired earlier than at first thought and opened 8 July, fears that closure over the summer could affect tourism on the East Coast.

First Transpennine Express explored the possibility of re-routing trains to run on the Brigg-Kirton in Lindsey line but would take 40 minutes longer than the replacement bus to Doncaster. "We have been given authorisation by Network Rail to use tracks predominantly used for freight trains but we are still working with them to find a suitable route to take. "We are also in the process of training some of our Cleethorpes train drivers, who need to learn the new route. This could take at least six weeks per driver." In the event no passenger services were re-routed onto this line. Capacity on the diversionary routes through Brigg and Lincoln is limited and it is essential we provide capacity for the freight flows out of Immingham and Scunthorpe upon which our economy relies. Network Rail has to find diversionary capability for approximately 140 freight services per day because of the damage caused by the landslip. These trains are essential to the UK economy and carry, amongst other goods, oil for aviation fuel, steel critical for production processes and coal for electricity generation. The majority are being accommodated on the Brigg line with some services also accommodated on the route through Lincoln. A significant number of these services are carrying coal which is feeding the power stations – maintaining essential power supplies to the north of England and East Midlands. Following meetings with local councils and customer feedback, First TransPennine Express will be introducing a new Sheffield to Cleethorpes service via the Brigg Line. This new 'holidaymaker' will run on Saturdays from 25 May leaving Sheffield at 1030. It will return from Cleethorpes to Sheffield at 1811. This is in addition to the three services in each direction which are operated by Northern Rail on this route every Saturday.

The Brigg line is not a normal operating route for FTPE and as such both FTPE trains have had to be cleared to operate on the route and FTPE staff have had to be trained on it. This process of training takes six days per driver. The Brigg line is also now extremely congested. It previously had 40 freight trains a day operating on it and this has now increased to over 100 as a result of the closure of the line at Hatfield and Stainforth. These freight trains are moving around 30% of the U.K.s coal needs and thus it is vital to maintain freight operations.

Network Rail announced that the scheduled work on Selby swing bridge will not go ahead until we have first restored rail services along the Hatfield route, replacement of the swing bridge at Selby would be going ahead as scheduled between 28 July and 9 September, but with no end in sight to the closure at Hatfield, the company has now bowed to the inevitable and started to change its plans so that other routes remain open.

closed for over 21 weeks.