Passengers were unable to use the Settle to Carlisle railway over the weekend after a landslide on Thursday shut the line to all trains. The line partially reopened on Monday and trains are currently running on one of the two tracks. A speed limit of 5MPH is in force beside the affected site.

 

Aerial monitoring confirmed the scale of ground movement in an embankment at Appleby. Network Rail route managing director Martin Frobisher said: "Consistent high levels of rainfall had saturated the ground and caused this slip, which affected the stability of the railway through the area.

 

"Our aerial footage highlighted the scale of ground movement which led us to close the line as a precaution. Extensive repairs will be needed to fix this."

 

Further south the West Coast Mainline has reopened at Leighton Buzzard after repairs were carried out to a bank slip at the end of January. A total of 2200t of stone and material were brought to site to fix the slip, using a temporary access road created across nearby fields. 

 

But on the Kent coast there is no firm indication as to when a stretch of railway between Dover and Folkestone will reopen, following the appearance of sink holes beside the line and next to a sea wall on Christmas Eve. The tracks have since been dug up to allow engineers to examine soil conditions.

 

Network Rail's senior programme manager Steve Kilby said: "We are working on designs all the time and the investigations we are undertaking will help us make the right decision for Dover. We need to be absolutely sure we have the right solution and a timetable we are confident in."