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Thursday 15 Mar 2018

Rail engineers to work round the clock on landslip repairs between Clacton on Sea and Colchester

Region & Route:

Eastern: Anglia

| Eastern

Repair work is under way following a landslip that caused extensive damage to the railway line between Clacton on Sea and Colchester. The line is expected to be closed for at least the next two days while the work takes place.

At approximately 00:20 on Thursday 15 March, a landslip was reported on the Clacton on Sea branch line at Thorrington. The track bed was washed away making it unsafe to run any services. Network Rail engineers will be working around the clock to pump away the water and repair the embankment and track.

The line is closed between Thorpe Le Soken and Colchester.  A limited rail replacement bus service is in place, but passengers should allow extra time for their journeys. A rail shuttle service is in operation between Walton-on-the-Naze and Thorpe-Le-Soken and between Clacton on Sea and Thorpe Le Soken.

Commuters from the Clacton and Walton-on-the-Naze lines will be able to use parking permits for their usual station at Colchester station should they wish to drive to Colchester to take a service to London.

Passengers are advised to check the Greater Anglia website and Twitter for the latest travel information. Further updates will be provided as work progresses.

Meliha Duymaz, Network Rail’s route managing director for Anglia, said; “The landslip has caused extensive damage and our engineers will be working around the clock to carry out the repairs and reopen the line as soon as it is safe to do so. We expect the repair work to take at least two days and we will provide further updates as our work progresses. I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while the repairs are carried out and ask that they check with their train operator for the latest travel information. We will carry out an investigation into what caused the landslide and any further preventative measures we can take.”

Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said: "We apologise to customers for the inconvenience to customers on our Clacton and Walton-on-the-Naze lines. We've hired about 25 buses and coaches and will do our best to make sure customers can complete their journeys. We're mobilising extra staff to help out at affected stations so that customers find it easy to get on the right bus and train."