Did you know hundreds of coal, rock and other mineral mines lay under our railway?
We have a dedicated mining team that carefully manages our railway over these mines to keep it safe and reliable for you and freight.
The mining industry and the railway
It was during the Industrial Revolution beginning in the mid-eighteenth century when the mining industry radically grew. This overlapped with the start of the railway in Britain. In fact, the geography of the railway lines in Britain often reflects where the largest mines were.
The railway provided fast and close access for many miners travelling into the mines, while powerful locomotives were able to transport vast quantities of products along our railway from the mines to further beyond.
But as the railway developed, some of the land it was built on encroached on older, abandoned mines, often unknowingly as many older mining maps did not accurately capture and record mines.
Today, we estimate there to be hundreds of mines under our railway based on our historical and modern collection of data.
The mining team – underground heroes of our railway
Jayde Endley, an engineer in our specialist mining team, said: “There’s long been an intrinsic link between the railway and mining because a lot of the railway was built to support the industry. We deal with understanding what’s underneath our infrastructure, and how that might pose a risk to our day-to-day operational running of the railway.”
The team’s work includes geospatial data mapping – creating visual representations or maps – of the mines under our railway.
Using these visual representations, they can plot out potential mine hazards which we then use to help manage the railway safely.
The most common hazards posed by legacy or old mines are the voids they often create beneath the surface where the minerals have been extracted. These voids can then pose a risk to the surface where our infrastructure sometimes stands.
Jayde said: “We also look at how this might affect new projects like upgrades. Teams need to know if they’ll be digging piles through a void. Or if they’re going to hit gas. And then we help these teams to manage and relieve these risks.”
This is essential work that helps keep the railway running smoothly and safely. Without it, the mines underneath our infrastructure could pose safety hazards, disrupting and stopping your journeys and even seriously threatening lives. We work together with the mining team to manage and remediate these hazards so that we can continue bringing you reliable, fast and, above all, safe journeys.
The mining team at Network Rail are discovering and recording more and more about the land that lies beneath our railway. It’s a difficult and complex job; capturing this data in a safe and accurate way can be a challenge due to the unknown risks there may be underground. However, Jayde and the team work hard to gather this knowledge so that we can keep the railway safe for you.
Jayde said: “I love that every day is different, and every day is a challenge that I can play a part in resolving.”
Reinforcing the railway in Shropshire above a Victorian mine
For example, the mining team recently helped us reinforce a railway line near a former mineral mine in Telford, Shropshire in March.
Janahan Manickavasagar, a scheme project manager at Network Rail, said: “The railway was originally built in this part of Shropshire to move the many minerals mined underground by the Victorians. But the labyrinth of workings left by our predecessors can pose a risk to the modern railway.”
The mining team found that one abandoned mine shaft in the Hadley area posed a significant risk to the railway close by – between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury. It could potentially cause ground movements that could adversely affect the nearby line.
So, we infilled the mineshaft to secure it and restore the safety of the railway here.
We’re dedicated to delivering a reliable, modern and above all safe railway for you. While mines can pose a significant risk to the railway, our dedicated mining team help us manage these for the continued safe running of your journeys.
