Railway line reopens after landslip repairs

A railway line between West Sussex and Surrey has reopened after it was closed for two weeks following a landslip.

The line between Horsham and Dorking had been closed since 23 January following the slip near Ockley.

Earth gave way along a 9m (10-yard) section of embankment, sliding out from under the tracks, causing the slip which left the tracks dangling in the air.

Network Rail said work was carried out day and night to rebuild the route and engineers had carried out other work to strengthen the embankment.

Buses had been replacing trains during the closure, with no trains serving Ockley, Holmwood or Warnham stations.

Paul Prentice from Network Rail told BBC Radio Surrey: "The embankment slipped away underneath the track, leaving the track hanging in mid-air for a nine-metre section. We couldn't keep the railway open.

"We had to bring in 2,800 tonnes of new material by train because the ground was saturated. We had to install 47 steel piles into the ground and 324 soil nails."

Damaged track had to be taken away, the embankment stabilised and a concrete platform built capable of holding a 50‑tonne machine.

The slope has since been reshaped, with wildlife at the site, including dormice, preserved while works took place

Network Rail Sussex route director, Lucy McAuliffe, said: "This was a significant landslip for our teams to respond to, and I can only apologise to passengers who have been impacted by this closure.

"The team worked around the clock to rebuild the railway at Ockley in just a few weeks, which is an incredible achievement, but we know how important this railway is to people and how crucial it was to get regular train services back on track."

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