Embankment 'still moving' on closed railway line

An embankment which has collapsed and closed a railway line linking Kent and Surrey is "still moving", Network Rail has said.

The Bough Beech embankment, near Edenbridge, collapsed on Good Friday, leading to the closure of the line between Tonbridge and Redhill.

Engineers accessed the site on Tuesday and began removing vegetation at the embankment before fully starting their work.

Network Rail is aiming to to have line back open on 15 April, to coincide with schools returning after the Easter break.

Speaking to BBC Radio Surrey, Network Rail's director of engineering and asset management Mark Killick said: "The embankment is still moving with the rainfall we are seeing. We need to get in and reinforce it as quickly as we can, but take our time to design the correct solution.

"This is a significant embankment. The wet conditions from the winter have contributed to this. At some sites, including Bough Beech, we use remote condition monitoring to see small movements and we did have some at this site but it really accelerated during the wet weather in March."

Mr Killick said there were a number of sites across the Southern region with "similar challenges" but this particular embankment was in a "remote location where there are other ecological issues".

Stations that are affected by the closure are Tonbridge, Leigh, Penshurst, Edenbridge, Godstone, Nutfield and Redhill.

Rail replacement buses are in operation along the whole line, although passengers can also use their tickets to travel on services via London to reach their final destination.

Mr Killick apologised to passengers for the inconvenience but said "safety is our number one priority".

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