Railway line near Epsom to reopen after landslide

Network Rail has announced that train services will resume between Ewell West and Epsom on Monday, 6 January, following a landslip which has closed the line for three weeks.

The landslip occurred on Saturday, 14 December, after heavy rainfall.

Engineers assessed the damage and found the saturated embankment had failed.

Since the closure of the line, teams have worked to repair the damage by removing the damaged track and 2,000 tonnes of material.

This weekend, Saturday 4 to Sunday 5 January, the track will be replaced and the electrical supply and signalling system will be reconnected. Tests will take place on Sunday night to make sure it is safe for trains to run on the morning of Monday 6 January.

What did the officials say?

Mark Killick, Network Rail Wessex route director, said:

“Repairing the damage from the landslip has been a complicated task and I want to say sorry to passengers, local residents and business owners for the inconvenience that these works have caused.

“I know our teams have put in a tremendous effort to get this work complete. Their dedication and commitment to these repairs has ensured that we will soon get passenger services running again.”

Christian Neill, SWR's Interim Head of Stations, said:

“We'd like to thank passengers for their patience over the festive period. We know this hasn't been an easy time for those travelling on our services and are sorry for the inconvenience these major engineering works have caused to their journeys.

“We would also like to thank Network Rail for their hard-work to ensure services fully resume between Epsom and Ewell West stations ahead of the introduction of our new timetable on Monday.”

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