Repaired viaduct gets safety approval as rail service resumes on Monday

SAFETY CERTIFICATION for the rebuilt Malahide viaduct on Iarnród Éireann’s Northern line was formally approved by the Railway Safety Commission yesterday afternoon.

The commission, which certifies safety aspects of all new railway infrastructure, said there were now no safety issues preventing services resuming as planned on Monday morning.

However, the investigation into the cause of the incident will not be concluded until early next year, according to Iarnród Éireann.

Northern commuter and Belfast Enterprise services have been disrupted for almost three months since a section of the viaduct collapsed on August 21st.

Iarnród Éireann said it will continue testing the track over the weekend. The viaduct has also been examined by independent structural engineers.

The company has spent more than €4 million rebuilding a weir which had collapsed and reinstituting a pillar on which the viaduct stands.

Reinforcement to other pillars was also carried out and the works have also included replacement of the bridge and track.

However, commuters who are looking forward to having their extended journey times cut back to normal will have to wait a further two weeks for services on the Northern line to return to normal.

The company said speed will be restricted to 25km/h (16mph), to be raised to 50km/h for another fortnight and finally to normal speed of 90km/h.

The emergency bus services put in place by CIÉ following the bridge collapse will not operate.

On Monday, the first passenger train across the viaduct will be the 5.40am train southbound from Dundalk to Pearse Station.

This week, the company again apologised for the collapse of the viaduct, which happened just four days after an inspection by Iarnród Éireann.

Warnings of damage to the viaduct supports had been raised in the days ahead of the crash by local sea scouts.

The collapse was caused by erosion of the weir at sea-bed level. This undermined the support of a pier.

A spokeswoman for the Railway Safety Commission explained that its role was only to inspect the safety of new railway infrastructure and that it would not have a role in routine safety inspections.

These inspections are the responsibility of railway operators, in this case Iarnród Éireann. Other railway operators include Luas and Bord Na Móna.