The aftermath of the 2013 rock fall at Plunkett Station
costing €1 million have been
undertaken at Plunkett Station
to protect against future rock
fall, after the station had to be
closed early last year when a
rockslide during intense rainfall
completely covered two
tracks and left them fl ooded
for several days.
However two platforms at
the station remain out of use
due to the potential for further
rock fall.
While this provides a certain
degree of ‘operational complexity’,
according to Iarnród
Eireann spokesperson Barry
Kenny, the platform closures
are not affecting services.
“We have been looking at
options to give greater operational
fl exibility, but progress
on any option would be subject
to funding”, he added.
An investigative report
into the rock fall, which
occurred on New Year’s Eve
2013, expressed concern that
the rock face is “discernibly
deteriorating”.
The report, by the Department
of Transport’s Railway
Accident Investigation Unit
(RAIU), concluded that there
were warning signs at the
station two years before the
collapse, though the potential
for the rock fall could not have
been identifi ed by staff in the
run-up to the incident.
Intense rainfall of previous
weeks was a likely contributory
factor to the rock fall,
which occurred at approximately
6.45pm. A passenger
train was due to arrive from
Dublin just 15 minutes later
but this was stopped and
returned to Kilkenny station.
Iarnród Éireann decided to
evacuate and close Plunkett
Station on safety grounds, to
allow for the removal of rubble
from the landslide as well as
the remaining loose rocks from
the rock face.
The station area also experienced
flooding during storm
and high tide conditions of previous
days, delaying the efforts
to reopen it.
The RAIU report recorded
how the signalman at Plunkett
Station heard a loud rumble
and, when he went out onto
the steps of the signal cabin
to investigate, he saw that a
large portion of the rock face
running adjacent to the station
had collapsed onto the two
tracks which run under the
signal cabin and through the
station.
The landslide was caused
by the toppling of the upper
part of the rock adjacent to
the tracks, which was up to 30
metres in height.
There were no injuries,
though extensive damage to
the signalling and communications
system resulted in the station’s
closure for several days.
In the aftermath, the Government
allocated over €1 million
to address the damage at Plunkett
Station. This included the
securing of the rock face with
netting.
Intense rainfall in the
preceding weeks undoubtedly
triggered the fall, according to
consultant geologists engaged
to inspect the rock face after
the incident, though the steep
formation of the rock and
“significant structural defects”
was also a contributory factor.
The consultants said it was
unlikely that Iarnród Éireann
staff could have identifi ed the
danger of a rock fall during
any routine inspection, nor
would there have been any
warning to the imminent fall
prior to the day of the incident.
The report revealed that the
rock face had been inspected
in March 2012 and was not due
another inspection until 2017.
The 2012 inspection identified
loose rocks in three locations
and rated the rock face
“poor” with “discernible deterioration”
that would worsen
within the next fi ve years to
a point where it would have
serious deficiencies requiring
mitigation measures.
Visual inspections were
carried out in March and
September of 2013 which
noted “loose rock fall”, “loose
rocks”, “leaning trees”, but no
other major defects.
The RAIU’s report recommended
that Iarnród Eireann
review its rating system of
measuring the condition of
embankments close to railway
lines as it is “not a true reflection
of the actual condition”.
Separate body the Railway
Safety Commission made a
similar recommendation back
in 2012. This has not occurred
to date.
