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South Western Railway services delayed after Hedge End landslip

Google Hedge End railwayGoogle
The landslip is believed to have happened near the rail line at Hedge End

A landslip has caused delays and alterations to rail services in Hampshire.

South Western Railway (SWR) had run rail replacement services following the incident at Hedge End but said there "should be no further delays".

Altered services ran between London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour via Eastleigh. Trains were also not stopping in Botley or Hedge End.

National Rail said the landslip was reported at 19:15 BST on Wednesday.

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Buses were available to shuttle passengers between Eastleigh and Fareham, calling at Hedge End and Botley.

A SWR spokesperson said commuters who experienced more than 15 minutes of delays may be entitled to compensation.

Southern Rail services in parts of Hampshire have also been "heavily impacted" after a major electricity supply failure.

Network Rail Botley railwayNetwork Rail
Hedge End experienced one of its biggest landslips in 2014, which closed the line for months

BBC South Transport Correspondent Paul Clifton said as far as landslips go, this was "not a big one" but still "wrecked the morning commute".

He explained Hedge End had a big landslip in 2014, which closed the line for months.

Meanwhile, other parts of the line have experienced issues too, he said Network Rail spent more than £2m on work to prevent landslips in 2022 by the Fareham tunnel entrance, removing thousands of tonnes of loose material.

Then in January this year there was another landslip at the site, following heavy rain, and the line was closed for a week to stabilise the side of a cutting.

Network Rail Eastleigh - Fareham rail lineNetwork Rail
Work was carried out in 2022 by the Fareham tunnel entrance to try and prevent landslips

"Soil nails which are 25m (82ft) long were drilled into the soft slope and reinforced with concrete to stabilise the bank," the BBC correspondent said.

"This line has always been notorious for subsidence and flooding. Built by Victorian engineers, with banks far steeper than would be acceptable today, through very weak clay.

"In fact, there have been landslips on the route right back to when it was first constructed. They first closed the line only four days after it opened in 1841."

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