Werrington Tunnel: 'UK first' underground freight route opens

The Werrington Tunnel will take rail freight off the East Coast Main Line near Peterborough

A £200m railway tunnel dubbed a "UK engineering first" has been officially opened by the rail minister.

The Werrington Tunnel was created by "pushing" an 11,000-tonne concrete curve under the East Coast Main Line (ECML) near Peterborough.

The "dive-under" system is designed to take freight traffic off the passenger routes - and took a year to build.

The minister, Chris Heaton-Harris, called the tunnel "a major leap forward for the £1.2bn East Coast Upgrade".

Work began on the project in the summer of 2018, and a curved concrete tube, weighing more than the Eiffel Tower, was pushed into place underneath the existing lines in January 2021.

The huge concrete curve was built in advance and took nine days to slide into place

It is the first time the technique has been employed in the UK.

The structure - measuring 155m (508ft) long with 1m-thick (3ft) walls - was pre-built in nine sections before its installation.

In July, the new track installed inside the tunnel was connected to the existing network, with signalling installed in September.

A spokesman for Network Rail said the tunnel would ensure that passenger services were no longer disrupted by freight trains crossing the tracks.

Mr Heaton-Harris said: "This country's railways have long been home to marvels of engineering and the new Werrington Tunnel shows that we are continuing that proud tradition.

"Opening this new section of railway marks the end of a project which saw Network Rail engineers deliver an incredible feat .. unlocking new opportunities for rail freight."

He said the new operation would also pave the way for the Integrated Rail Plan, which sets out £96bn of investment in the UK railway network.

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Rob McIntosh, managing director for Network Rail's Eastern region, described the project as "ground-breaking".

"I'm proud of our team's brilliant response to the challenges of the Covid pandemic and how they reached major milestones on the project when it was at its peak," he said.

"Using innovative methods, we've also been able to avoid major disruption for passengers, as services have continued running throughout the majority of the work."

John Smith, chief executive of GB Railfreight, said the tunnel was a "win for both consumers and the rail freight industry" which would "unlock much-needed extra capacity on the network for freight services".