Media centre

Thursday 13 Feb 2014

National rail update: 0900

Region & Route:

National

Immense efforts by hundreds of rail engineers overnight have seen scores of trees removed from blocked lines, over a dozen dewirements repaired and hundreds of pieces of debris cleared of the track across Wales and the north of England.

The West Coast Main Line is open with only the spur through Runcorn to Liverpool still closed and this is expected back later this morning (there are alternative routes to Liverpool).

The majority of the East Coast Main Line is open with the spur from Doncaster to Leeds expected to reopen within the hour. Overhead line damage north of York means a more limited service than normal as work continues to repair overnight damage and a blanket speed from Newcastle to the Scottish border of 80mph will add about 30 mins to journeys to Scotland until midday.

Some less well used Welsh routes (Blaenau Ffestiniog, Fishguard and Aberystwyth) remain shut as engineers work to clear scores of downed trees.

The situation across the South and South West remains as it has for the past few days with flooding issues not getting any worse:

• Oxford – Didcot: Flooding cleared here and linespeed restored but a half hourly shuttle between Reading and Oxford remains in pace because of the service restrictions caused by the flooding at Maidenhead

• Maidenhead – Twyford: Flooding at Waltham (Maidenhead - Twyford) means a very limited service out of Paddington and the advice remains check before you travel and avoid Paddington if at all possible

• Exeter: two of the three routes to Exeter remain open with the route through Bridgwater through the Levels closed with 3/4 mile underwater

• Dawlish sea wall: work continues to repair the wall. 11 shipping containers have been welded together and filled with sand and stone to form a new temporary sea wall and scaffolding has been erected to give workers better access to start repairs

• Eastleigh – Fareham: single line blocked near Botley Route expected to remain blocked for several weeks. This is a route into Portsmouth but not the main line

• Windsor Branch: line blocked due to Thames floodwater above conductor rail level at Datchet. Services terminating at Staines and onward road transport now in operation to Windsor

• Oxted: Line blocked while recovery work is carried out. Services are terminating at Woldingham with a shuttle service operating Uckfield / East Grinstead to Oxted. No firm estimate for reopening yet

• Tunbridge Wells - Hastings line is shut as a result of, several, major landslips along the route and will take several weeks to repair. A media visit is being arranged for Friday