Media centre

Monday 1 Feb 2016

Amended timetable for train passengers as Leighton Buzzard bank slip is repaired

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

Train passengers travelling between Euston and Milton Keynes will see revised timetables this week as Network Rail engineers carry out major repairs to a railway embankment slip at Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire.

Some London Midland services from Milton Keynes to Euston were cancelled today after one of two southbound lines had to be closed to trains because of the slip at Linslade, Leighton Buzzard on Saturday.

Southern services between Watford and Milton Keynes were also affected and some knock-on delays were experienced by Virgin customers.

Engineers were today building an access road through nearby fields so lorries could transport 2,200 tonnes of railway foundation stone to the site.

Mark Killick, area director for Network Rail, said: “We recognise the impact this embankment slip is having on train passengers and we are working to rebuild the embankment as soon as possible.

“This is a must-do job to ensure the ongoing safety of the railway. We are using this as an opportunity to make this railway embankment even stronger and cut the risk of a future slip.

“We are aiming to complete this work by Friday and can’t be any more definitive at this point. Regrettably this means disruption to passengers for the duration of the week while our teams work hard to make repairs.

“We will continue to keep passengers up to date as we complete this emergency engineering work.”

Train customers can get the very latest information on:

• National Rail Enquiries, nationalrail.co.uk,
• londonmidland.com/landslip
• https://www.virgintrains.co.uk
• southernrailway.com

A London Midland spokesperson said: “As a result of the landslip we have been forced to cancel some services between Milton Keynes and London Euston. However, there are still a number of services running so passengers should plan their journey and check before they travel.

“We have arranged for as many London Midland services as possible to stop additionally at local stations and we are advising passengers that they can use their London Midland ticket on London Overground, London Underground and Southern services to help complete their journey. We will continue to provide customers with the latest updates on our website, www.londonmidland.com/landslip.

“We would like to thank our passengers for their patience whilst this issue is resolved.”