Hampshire: ‘huge’ landslide causes ‘serious’ train disruption
A large landslide on the London rail track, which carries trains from the southwest to London, has brought trains to a halt.
A 10 m high embankment near Hook slipped out from under the railroad, leaving one track used for westbound traffic lanes hanging in the air.
The very damp weather of recent days is to blame for this.
This means south and westbound trains from London will face disruptions and “major changes” to rail service for some time.
As a result, Network Rails has issued a guide for passengers traveling on this route to avoid taking the train today.
Teams from train operator Network Rail Wessex are still assessing the damage.
They will now plan how to use the existing alignment to London and the route through Haslemere.
READ ALSO: Passenger of the railway fell between the platform and the train
A video posted to their social media shows footprints hanging in the air.
⚠️VIDEO: Large landslide damaged our main line near #Hookin Hampshire.
📢@SW_Help customers are advised not to travel tomorrow if traveling to or from London south or west of Basingstoke.
Here is route director Mark on what happened 👇 /1 pic.twitter.com/xGSKF0Kq12— Network Rail Wessex (@NetworkRailWssx) January 15, 2023
Network Rail Wessex route director Mark Killick said in a statement:
“This is a huge landslide that will have a huge impact on customers. The main line to Basingstoke is the backbone of our railway and there will be collisions along the route.
“I can only apologize for the scale of the disruption and please ask customers to check before traveling this week not only the affected section, but the entire line to London Waterloo, where many trains that will use this section of railway start and end their journey.
“We are still assessing the damage and it is difficult to determine an exact timeline, but we know it will take at least a week.
“We will need to stabilize the embankment, effectively stopping its movement, and then restore the railway where it slipped.
“We will keep everyone posted on our progress and I can only thank everyone for their patience and once again apologize for the disruption.
“Please stay tuned for further updates from the South Western Railway on the revised schedule as soon as this is confirmed.”
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