Last Friday, 8 March, the line between Oakengates and Wellington in Shropshire suffered a landslip on a steep railway embankment that closed the line and requires major work to repair, which Network Rail expects to complete by the Easter bank holiday weekend.
During the landslip, over 5,000 tonnes of material slipped from underneath a 50-metre section of the railway, caused by persistent heavy rainfall over the winter months that had weakened the earthwork.
The embankment is approximately 15 metres in height, and work to re-stabilise requires material that has slipped to be dug out, so that a new profile can be created for the slope.
Engineers will cut large ‘steps' into the slope before backfilling it with over 12,000 tonnes of stone, which will strengthen the embankment and help to reduce its slope.
Network Rail and its contractor Murphy are working to repair the landslip and restore train services on the line as soon as possible.
Anyone intending to travel should check before doing so at www.nationalrail.co.uk
Changes to train services
Until the line is reopened, the following arrangements will be in place:
Tickets issued by Transport for Wales will be accepted on services operated by West Midlands Railway, Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry Trains.
Until Sunday 17 March:
- All trains will start and terminate at Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury stations. Rail replacement buses will serve all stations between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury.
From Monday 18 March:
- A two-hourly train service will operate between Wolverhampton and Shifnal, calling at Wolverhampton, Bilbrook, Codsall, Albrighton, Cosford and Shifnal. The average round journey time will be between 20 and 25 minutes.
- Transport for Wales will provide rail replacement buses between Shrewsbury and Birmingham.
- Avanti West Coast's daily service to London Euston will continue to start and finish at Wolverhampton.
Recently, Network Rail has also had to repair landslips in Buckinghamshire, and Kent.
I'm really sorry to passengers whose journeys are affected by the closure of the railway in Telford after a landslip last week which was caused by prolonged heavy rainfall over the winter months.
The scale of our repairs are extremely challenging and will involve using over 12,000 tonnes of material to restabilise the failed railway embankment so we can safely reopen the railway.
We're currently aiming to fully reopen the line by Easter, but whilst the railway is closed, regular replacement buses will continue to run and I want to remind people to check at www.nationalrail.co.uk and with their train operator for the latest travel advice.
Adam Checkley, Network Rail infrastructure director
This was a significant landslip and I thank passengers for their patience while Network Rail completes crucial repairs.
With the line closed, we've operated a rail replacement service between affected stations and we are pleased to be able to run a train service between Wolverhampton and Shifnal in both directions from Monday.
Passengers can now check departure times in journey planners and we will be running this partial service until the line reopens.
Jonny Wiseman, WMR customer experience director
Let’s hope Murphy’s got waterproof some wellies!