West Cumbria rail replacement bus disruption 'unacceptable'
MacAlister's letter said: "I have had reports of some buses not turning up, others severely delayed, some not stopping at scheduled stations, leaving people stranded."He added some drivers were allowing dogs, while others were not, causing confusion for passengers.MacAlister said: "The confusion and disruption is unacceptable, especially as this is going to continue for most of the year."
'Urgent changes needed'
Northern said it planned to run replacement buses between Sellafield and Workington until 10 August.From 11 August, the buses would run between the nuclear site and Whitehaven.Northern and Network Rail said: "From Monday, trains will run to Whitehaven on the northern side of the tunnel, and we are looking at the options available to be able to run trains to Corkickle on the other side."But MacAlister said he had been told by "experienced engineers" there was no reason for such a large railway closure and he wanted to see just the section between Whitehaven and Corkickle closed, with buses running between the stations.
He asked the rail firm to give its "urgent attention" to implementing changes so that buses are only needed for the shorter route, meaning Braystones and Nethertown would no longer be "isolated".Network Rail carried out survey work last week, ahead of a planned three-week closure from 30 August to replace tracks and carry out drainage works.Part of the line had been affected by contaminated water flowing from abandoned mines through Bransty railway tunnel and discharging into the harbour at Whitehaven, causing the water to turn orange.During the survey engineers discovered further repairs to the tunnel floor were needed.Network Rail said this would likely mean a delay to the planned work.
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