RAIL lines between Rugby and Coventry have reopened after a landslip.
Network Rail has completed repairs to stabilise a railway embankment on the West Coast main line after storms and heavy rain caused a landslip near Church Lawford on Sunday (February 11).
The railway reopened this afternoon (Tuesday February 13) after rail engineers had closed the line to secure the embankment.
Over 800 tonnes of soil was excavated during the repairs.
On Sunday, soil moved from the embankment onto the track after persistent heavy rainfall weakened the earth beneath it.
Although the landslip affected only one of two tracks, engineers needed to close the line entirely to safely carry out repairs.
Network Rail has worked with its contractor Murphy to remove vegetation from the embankment before excavating soil away from the track.
Close monitoring continues and work is currently being planned to further stabilise the railway embankment, which will be done during overnight closures to limit the disruption to passengers.
James Dean, route director for Network Rail, said: “I’m sorry to passengers who’ve been affected by the closure.
“I’m pleased to advise that we’ve reopened both tracks this afternoon – with a reduced speed limit – which means passenger and freight trains can run again.”
Dave Whitehouse, Safety and Security Director at Avanti West Coast, said: “Although the emergency engineering work is now completed, trains will still be disrupted between London and Birmingham for the remainder of the day whilst we work to resume services fully for tomorrow.
“The advice is to check before you travel, using our websites or social media. We would to like to thank customers for their patience during this time.”
For safety reasons trains will run at a reduced speed on the affected section of track while engineers monitor the embankment and complete further overnight repairs.
Passengers are advised to check www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest travel advice.
