EMERGENCY night-time work is underway to repair multiple landslips beside the railway between Rugby and Coventry.
Last month, a landslip was detected in a cutting at Church Lawford on the West Coast main line.
There have now been four landslips along a 150m stretch of railway between Church Lawford and Brandon, caused by heavy rain being soaked up by silt and clay in the cutting embankments.
Engineers are working at night to carry out £3million of emergency repair work so trains can continue to run on the line in the daytime – at a precautionary reduced speed of 50mph.
The cutting was due to be reconstructed in around five years, but this has now been brought forward to stop a major incident blocking Britain’s busiest mixed-use railway.
Luke Swain, senior asset engineer at Network Rail, said: “Passengers travelling through this stretch of railway may have been wondering why their trains have run slower than normal recently – this is why. We are working night and day to keep the railway safe and keep people moving.
“This is an absolutely vital part of the railway between Birmingham New Street and London Euston, and we want to make sure passengers get the service they deserve on this route.
“The sheer amount of rain we’ve had over the last few months has put us in a tough spot, but we’re working hard to get our plan into action to secure the affected area and provide a safe and reliable railway for passengers.”
After slipped material is cleared from site, a new retaining wall will be built at the foot of the embankment. Engineers will then replace silt and clay in the cutting with rocks that fit better with the slope, providing better drainage and preventing further slips in future.
The area is being monitored around the clock for any further ground movements.
Visit www.nationalrail.co.uk to see how speed restrictions may affect journeys.
