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Tuesday 13 Feb 2024

Passengers thanked after West Coast main line reopens following emergency landslip repairs

Region & Route:

North West & Central: West Coast Mainline South

Network Rail has thanked passengers after completing major repairs to stabilise a railway embankment on the West Coast main line after storms and heavy rain caused a landslip between Coventry and Rugby on Sunday (11 February).  

The railway between London Euston and Birmingham reopened this afternoon (Tuesday 13 February) after rail engineers closed the line to secure the embankment allowing trains to safely resume. 

Overnight on Monday (12 February) until lunchtime Tuesday (13 February) over 800 tonnes of soil was excavated and transported away from site by rail.  

On Sunday (11 February) soil moved from the embankment onto the track near the village of Church Lawford after persistent heavy rainfall weakened the earth beneath it. 

Although the landslip affected only one of two tracks, engineers needed to close the line entirely to safely repair and fully reopen the West Coast main line for passengers and freight services. 

Network Rail has worked round-the-clock with its contractor Murphy to remove vegetation from the embankment before excavating soil away from the track.  

Close monitoring continues and work is currently being planned to further stabilise the railway embankment which will be delivered in overnight closures to limit the disruption to passengers.  

James Dean, route director for Network Rail, said: “I’m sorry to passengers who’ve been affected by the closure of the West Coast main line while we completed emergency repairs to the landslip between Coventry and Rugby.  

“I’m pleased to advise that we’ve reopened both tracks this afternoon – with a reduced speed limit – which means passenger and freight trains can run again.  

“I want to thank passengers for their patience and ask those travelling to check www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest journey information.” 

Jonny Wiseman, LNR customer experience director, said “Safety on the railway is paramount and I would like to thank our passengers for their patience while Network Rail completed this important lineside earthwork. 

“With the line now fully reopened our services between Birmingham New Street and London Euston can return to the usual timetable and we look forward to welcoming passengers back on board.” 

Dave Whitehouse, Safety and Security Director at Avanti West Coast, said: “Although the emergency engineering work is now completed, trains will still be disrupted between London and Birmingham for the remainder of the day whilst we work to resume services fully for tomorrow.     

“The advice is to check before you travel, using our websites or social media. We would to like to thank customers for their patience during this time.” 

For safety reasons trains will run at a reduced speed on the affected section of track while engineers monitor the embankment and complete further overnight repairs. 

Passengers should check www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest travel advice.