East London extended disruption after Barking derailment

The cleanup and restoration of the railway near Barking after last Friday’s derailment will continue well into next week. The work to recover a stranded intermodal train and repair damaged infrastructure is proving far more extensive than first hoped.

New images released by c2c show the scale of the recovery operation, including two wagons being cut up on site and the remains loaded onto flatbed vehicles. Online forums report that the motive power, two Class 99 bi-mode locomotives, were undamaged and have been released. Meanwhile, the derailment continues to affect passenger services and freight flows serving London Gateway and Tilbury, with repairs expected to extend into next week.

The accident last Friday soon developed into a major incident. The 4M47 GB Railfreight operated intermodal train travelling from London Gateway towards Hams Hall, Birmingham, partially derailed at Barking. The extent of the damage to the rolling stock, including displaced bogies and detached axles, and to the infrastructure, only slowly became apparent.

Two wagons have been cut up at the site, with the dismantled sections loaded onto flatbed vehicles for removal. The decision to break up the vehicles indicates the extent of the damage and the practical difficulties of recovering them intact. It’s hoped that some component salvage will be possible. The two Class 99 locomotives reportedly hauling the train, 99004 and 99007, are not understood to have sustained damage.

This story was originally published by RailFreight.com. Read the full story at RailFreight.com →