Collapsed rail bridge faced October inspection
A railway viaduct which collapsed into the sea was due to undergo a full bridge inspection in October, it emerged tonight.
Iarnród Éireann revealed the Malahide estuary crossing was scheduled to have its biennial assessment this autumn.
However the firm confirmed engineer divers only examine underwater structures every six years and the Broadmeadow Estuary Rail viaduct was not expected to be seen again until 2012.
A 20 metre section of the bridge, which carries more than 90 trains a day, fell into the sea on Friday moments after rush hour commuter services carrying hundreds of passengers passed over it.
Train driver Keith Farrelly averted tragedy when he spotted subsidence on the track and all services were suspended.
Iarnród Éireann confirmed a member of the public raised concerns at markings on piers on the Malahide Viaduct and over erosion to the piers four days before the incident.
Spokesman Barry Kenny maintained the firm responded promptly to the call from sea scout leader Ivan Barratt by having an engineer inspect the viaduct and its piers the following day.
“This assessment identified that there were no visible structural issues, and that all markings were cosmetic,” said Mr Kenny.
“We are satisfied that this is accurate, and that the markings identified were unrelated to Friday’s collapse.”
Mr Kenny said a track recording vehicle which travelled the line on Thursday - the day before the collapse – did not detect any deviations in the line either.
However Mr Barratt, who takes scouts canoeing up to three times a week on the estuary, claims he had noticed worsening erosion over a period of several months.
An initial Iarnród Éireann inquiry has found seabed erosion, caused by recent low tides and heavy rains, is suspected of being behind the collapse of the busy railway viaduct.
“It is believed that in a relatively short time-frame, possibly in recent weeks, that a small breach occurred in a causeway plateau within the seabed. This would have resulted in changes to water flow, with increased water pressure on the area,” added Mr Kenny.
Inspection and maintenance reports and procedures and climate factors will all be examined by Iarnród Éireann as part of its ongoing probe, he added.
Fine Gael said it was unacceptable an underwater examination of the railway infrastructure and surrounding seabed was not carried out when the concerns were highlighted.
Fergus O’Dowd TD called on Iarnród Éireann to publish its safety management system which was in place to monitor the Malahide estuary railway infrastructure.
“The public also needs to know how quickly normal service can be resumed,” he added.
Labour’s Tommy Broughan said the Department of Transport’s Rail Investigation Unit should also fully investigate the sequence of events including the phonecall made by a concerned member of the public.
“The reported warnings prior to the bridge’s collapse from a senior Malahide Sea Scout leader raise profound questions over the safety and inspection procedures that are currently in place at Irish Rail,” he added.
Elsewhere a special group has been set up to help minimise the disruption caused by the cancellation of rail services to deal with extra vehicles on the road and assist public transport providers.
