Network Rail engineers and suppliers are currently on site and beginning to repair the 10-metre landslip over a stretch of 7 metre-high embankment moved away from the railway.
The site is approximately half a mile in the direction of London from Lingfield station where the railway forms a triangle between Haxted Road and Bowerland Lane. Further to the landslip, six-metre cracks have been discovered on both sides which has led to immediate action being taken in case the situation worsens.
Teams from Network Rail and BAM Nuttall are already working in order to get trains back in action as soon as possible and it is anticipated that the return of rail services could be as soon as the middle of next week if not before.
Network Rail's route director for Sussex, Lucy McAuliffe, said: “I'm so sorry for this disruption to passengers, on top of so much disruption over the past months. My team is working round the clock to get this landslip fixed as soon as possible and our neighbours will see we have already got a team and equipment on site today (Thursday).
“We will be using Lingfield station as the base for the repair operation, along with the site itself in fields to the north of the village, so I'd like to apologise in advance to people who live nearby as you will see a great deal of action in the next week, with lots of people and machinery arriving to repair the damage.
“This railway through Lingfield was built in 1884, out of local Wealden clay, which is notoriously unsuitable for building railways on. Unfortunately, they didn't know that then, and our passengers are suffering the consequences.
“In terms of timescales, we're aiming for the middle of next week and we will do what we can to get it open sooner.”
Jenny Saunders, customer services director for Southern and Thameslink, said: “We're very sorry that the current severe weather has caused this serious landslip, preventing us from running trains for several days. We're grateful for the expertise of Network Rail and their contractors, who have acted quickly to strengthen the embankment, and to our passengers for bearing with the considerable inconvenience while the line is being made safe again.
“We've arranged ticket acceptance on other Southern and Thameslink services – East Grinstead car park passes will be valid at Oxted and Haywards Heath stations to help commuters use those – and also on Southeastern services from Tunbridge Wells and local buses.”
Built of Wealden Clay which is the material which lies under the embankment sees the majority of landslips for Network Rail's Southern Region including a major slip close to East Grinstead at Cookspond during 2020. As clay absorbs water rather than letting it drain it becomes vulnerable during extended very wet weather and also in freezing conditions.
Over the past three years has seen 200 earthwork failures, 25 of which led to large-scale line closures and causing disruption for passengers. Climate change is causing an increase in landslips as weather becomes more extreme with the Met Office reporting 7 of the 10 wettest years on record since 1998 in the UK.
The Southern Region is responsible for a huge number of earthworks and has a £500 million budget to cover a five-year period. Rebuilding and strengthening all of the region's earthworks would cost billions of pounds and see railway lines closed over long periods. A focus on examination in order to repair and mitigate alongside regular drainage inspections and maintenance allows water to flow freely cutting the risk of landslips. In some areas, small electronic devices have been installed in the ground in order to monitor movement, sending alerts if a landslip occurs.
The regrading of cuttings to make them less steep and therefore more stable is also carried out however this is impossible for some locations and in this circumstance the building of retaining walls or rock netting is completed in order to stop mud falling onto tracks. Embankments can also see slopes regraded or walls built at the bottom to keep them stable.
The repairs carried out at the site of the landslip will see a wall of sheet piles (flat steel beams) driven deep into the ground from the top of the slip's location which will prevent further movement whilst providing support to the railway. After the emergency repair is finalised over the next week, work will commence on a long-term solution for the site.
Alternative arrangements for customers who use the route are as follows:
- Ticket acceptance on any alternative Southern route and on Thameslink services between Haywards Heath and London.
- Metrobus services between East Grinstead and Three Bridges.
- Southdown PSV Buses between East Grinstead and Oxted, and Oxted and Redhill.
- East Grinstead car park tickets are accepted at Haywards Heath and Three Bridges stations.
