A landslip in Hampshire has left tracks on the mainline from London to Basingstoke hanging in mid air, and passengers are being warned to expect major disruption to trains.
The landslip, which has happened northeast of Hook station, has meant that only two of the four tracks are useable by trains – both of these tracks are designed to be used by the London-bound trains only.
The guidance for passengers for tomorrow (Monday 16th January 2023), is not to travel from the south or west of Basingstoke towards London or vice versa.
Network Rail Wessex route director Mark Killick said: “This is a huge landslip and will have a massive effect on customers. The main line to Basingstoke is the spine of our railway and there will be knock-on impacts across the route.
“I can only apologise for the scale of the disruption and please ask that customers check before they travel this week, not just on the affected section, but all the way up the line to London Waterloo, where many of the trains that would use this section of railway start and finish their journeys.
“We're still assessing the damage and it's difficult to put a detailed timescale in place, but we know it's going to be at least a week.
“We will need to stabilise the embankment, essentially stopping it moving, and then rebuild the railway where it has slid away. We'll keep everyone informed of our progress and I can only say thank you to everyone for their patience and apologise again for the disruption. Please look out for further updates from South Western Railway on the revised timetable, once this has been able to be confirmed.”
Is anyone taking bets on how long this will take to fix permanently? In the distant past (including wartime), perhaps six days. In 2023, my guess is 6 months. I’d like to be proved wrong – in the right way!