Emergency landslip repairs disrupt train services between Woking and Basingstoke

011223 MAJOR LANDSLIP
An SWR train travels past the landslip between Brookwood and Woking at 20mph Credit: Network Rail

Emergency work to repair a landslip is set to cause significant disruption to train services between Woking and Basingstoke next week and passengers are advised to only travel if absolutely necessary.Tiny sensors in the ground have detected movement in a 100-metre-long slope next to the St John’s Hill Road overbridge between Brookwood and Woking in Surrey. Cracks up to 45 metres long, 50cm wide and a metre deep have been discovered in some places.

Network Rail has introduced a 20mph speed restriction to enable services to keep running through the area before urgent repairs can begin.Part of the railway will be closed next week to stabilise the area and prevent a more disruptive and potentially dangerous landslip.

Engineers will install a steel wall to prevent any earth slipping onto the tracks. Credit: Network Rail

This weekend Network Rail will prepare the worksite, bringing in specialist equipment andmachinery before starting work on installing a metal wall on Monday, to prevent any earth slipping onto the tracks.

While the work is taking place, this stretch of railway will reduce from four tracks to two.

Trains travelling through the area will need to be manually signalled by Network Railengineers using red and green ‘hand signals’ – similar to roadworks traffic control – further reducing the number of services that are able to run.

While the work is taking place, this stretch of railway will reduce from four tracks to two. Credit: Network Rail

The emergency repair work comes amid industrial action.

  • On Wednesday 6 December, a reduced number of services were due to run in thisarea due to planned ASLEF strike action, and will be unaffected by the works.

  • On Thursday 7 December, SWR’s full service will be impacted by the ASLEFovertime ban.

  • From Friday 8 to Sunday 10 December, a severely reduced service will operate onthe mainline between Basingstoke and Woking, impacting the routes to Exeter,Salisbury, Southampton, Bournemouth and Weybridge.

  • On Wednesday 6, Friday 8, Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 December, trains FROMLondon Waterloo will not be able to serve Brookwood. A rail replacement bus servicewill operate every 30 minutes from Woking, calling at Brookwood, Aldershot andFarnborough Main. On Saturday and Sunday, the bus will also call at Ash Vale.

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