Track relaying completed
Relaying of the track in Sharpthorne Tunnel has been the first major task of the year for Infrastructure. The wet conditions in the tunnel has caused severe deterioration of the rail although the cast iron chairs were mostly reusable. The wooden sleepers were also mostly in reusable condition so the task was to replace the bullhead rail and change out any bad chairs and sleepers.
Wooden keys had been used in parts of the tunnel which degrade slower than the metal keys in the wet conditions and also provide a good anchor for the rail. The decision was taken to replace them with metal keys. Some of the wooden keys had swollen to such an extent that they were particularly difficult to remove.
As the re-laid track has yet to be tamped, a speed restriction through the tunnel remains.
Cutting a rail and the state of the removed track
