Network Rail will invest in a new project to improve the resilience of the railway at Chipping Sodbury. Improving the resilience of the railway in the region will not only mean fewer trains are cancelled during extreme weather, but will also mean that services can be back up and running at a quicker rate, improving reliability for passengers. The railway between the former Badminton station and the Kingrove stream has been subject to flooding on a regular basis, caused by a combination of ground and surface water.
Network Rail will expand the existing storage lagoon to hold around 11 million litres of water and will also install a new pumping system to take excess rain water into the newly-enlarged storage lagoon more quickly when flooding occurs, improving the resilience of the railway.
The Chipping Sodbury project is one of a number of schemes under the Department for Transport’s Flood Resilience Programme. This GBP 26.5 million (EUR 29 million) programme was established after extreme weather in 2012 and 2014 caused extensive disruption to the rail network. The aim of the programme is to reduce the risk of flooding at key locations in the Thames Valley and south west and ensure that when flooding does occur, train services can be resumed at a quicker rate, reducing disruption for passengers.
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