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Friday 23 Oct 2009

HARWICH BRANCH LINE: PASSENGER SERVICES SUSPENDED UNTIL MONDAY 9 NOVEMBER

Region & Route:

| Eastern: Anglia

| Eastern

Passenger services on the line between Manningtree and Harwich are suspended until Monday 9^th November following a landslip near Harwich. Buses currently replace trains between Manningtree and Harwich.

Network Rail engineers have been on site since Wednesday evening when part of the railway embankment close to the river Stour began to deteriorate suddenly. The landslip caused the track and overhead power lines – which power the electric passenger trains which use the line – to move from their normal position. As a result passenger trains cannot pass through the area.

A limited amount of diesel-powered freight traffic to and from Harwich continues to use the one remaining open track by special arrangement with a speed restriction. Thorough inspections of the track are being carried out before and after each train.

Andrew Munden, Anglia route director, said: “Running a safe, reliable railway is Network Rail’s top priority. Our engineers are working around the clock so we can reopen the railway to passenger trains as quickly as possible. We apologise to passengers for the disruption to their journeys.”

Network Rail engineers are working day and night to strengthen the embankment through extensive piling works and laying several hundred tonnes of new ballast. When this initial phase of work is complete, engineers will then restore the track and overhead lines to their correct positions in order to reopen the line on Monday 9^th November.