UK: Specialist environmental contractors Adler & Allan and Jacobs have begun remediation work to remove and replace 12 000 m3 of soil which was contaminated with diesel when 330 000 litres of fuel was spilt when a freight train derailed at Llangennech on the Heart of Wales line on August 26.
The remediation plan has split the site into ‘cells’ of up to 30 m3 of affected soil, which will be removed by lorry to a licenced waste management facility near Merthyr Tydfil.
The excavated areas will then be filled with clean quarried materials specifically selected to match the pH levels of soils in the area. The replacement railway track is expected to be put in place early in the new year.
An area of woodland to the north east of the incident site on Coal Authority land will also be restored.
‘We believe the decision we have made to remove more soil, deeper under the railway line is the right thing to do, as it will minimise any impact on the environment for future generations’, said Network Rail Wales route director Bill Kelly on Decenmber 11.
The ongoing investigation into the cause of the derailment is being led by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch.
