Media centre

Friday 5 Feb 2016

Appleby landslip closes Settle to Carlisle line after aerial monitoring confirms the scale of ground movement

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

The Settle to Carlisle railway line was shut to all trains last night (4 February) after aerial monitoring confirmed the scale of ground movement in the railway embankment at Appleby.

Network Rail engineers remain on site and are planning the repairs required to fix the issue and minimise the chances of further landslips in the same area in the future.

 

Martin Frobisher, route managing director for Network Rail, said: "The safety of train passengers and railway staff is paramount and is the reason behind this decision.

 

"Consistent high levels of rainfall have saturated the ground and caused this slip, which has affected the stability of the railway through the area. Our aerial footage highlighted the scale of ground movement which has led us to close the line as a precaution while we confirm the next steps to tackle this issue. We do know extensive repairs will be needed to fix this."

 

Aerial surveillance, as well as on the ground inspections, were used to monitor the situation and inform the decision.

 

Martin added: "We are looking at all options to reinstate some service through the area but will only do this if it is safe to do so and will update passengers as soon as we can. I appreciate the implications of this decision but safety is always the number one priority in these circumstances."

 

Alex Hynes, Managing Director for Northern Rail comments:

 

“Following the landslip, we will not be able to run a full train service today between Carlisle and Leeds but we are working hard to provide a solid road replacement operation for our customers between Appleby and Carlisle.

 

“We would like to apologise to customers for the disruption this has caused and thank them for their continued patience. We will be sharing the latest updates online and on social as and when we receive the latest information from Network Rail.”

 

Passengers can check for the latest information at www.nationalrail.co.uk.