Rail line re-opens after emergency landslip works

A railway line that closed due to emergency landslip repair work has re-opened.

The line between Guildford and Effingham Junction closed on 21 December so work could take place and re-opened on Friday, with the first train at about 05:00 GMT.

During the closure, 50 sheet piles (8m (26.2ft) long sheets of metal) and a 30m (98.4ft) section of soil nails (steel rods) were installed to help underpin the line.

Network Rail Wessex's Project Manager Ned Campbell said: "We saw vulnerability in the earthwork so we took action to close the railway.

"There is never a good time to close the railway but it was the most practical and safest manner we needed to do to take action.

"I'd like to apologise to the local residents for the noise but it was imperative we did the works."

South Western Railway (SWR) services between London Waterloo and Guildford, via Cobham & Stoke D'Abernon, and via Epsom did not run during the closure.

Network Rail added that some engineering work is still taking place on the SWR network, predominantly affecting services operating via Woking and Basingstoke.

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