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Monday 10 Feb 2014

Media Update: Engineers on site across South to keep trains moving - where possible

Region & Route:

National

• Water levels bring disruption to Thames Valley
• Lines to Exeter reopen
• Further landslips strike Sussex

Water levels in the River Thames are at their highest for many years and are bringing disruption to certain routes in the area.

Flooding in the Datchet area and several other locations mean trains are not able to run between Staines and Windsor & Eton Riverside stations. Water levels are expected to rise throughout the day and it is expected to be some time before we are able to re-open the railway line. A replacement bus service is in operation.

Meanwhile, the line from Oxford to Didcot is disrupted, but still running, with flooding at Hinksey. Network Rail engineers removed sensitive equipment from the line over the weekend, to allow for a swifter resolution when water levels drop.
Groundwater is also causing problems with equipment in the Maidenhead area, but trains are still able to run

Two of the three routes from Exeter to London - via Athelney and Crewkerne - have reopened following flooding and a landslip at the weekend, and trains are also able to run from Taunton to Exeter following the completion of engineering work at Whiteball Tunnel. The line through Bridgwater, linking Taunton to Bristol, remains closed with the flooding on the Somerset Levels.

Work to protect the damaged sea wall at Dawlish continues, with a temporary breakwater erected from rubble-filled shipping containers enabling the start of repairs to the main area of damage.

Sussex suffered a further landslip over the weekend near Stonegate adding to two slips that were already being repaired. Buses replace trains between Wadhurst and Battle until repairs can be made.