A
major
landslip
at
the
weekend


has
left
one
of
the
tracks
of
the
main
line
from
London
to
Basingstoke
hanging
in
mid-air
and
another
track
damaged,
after
the
embankment
supporting
it
collapsed.

Network
Rail
has
warned
of
‘huge
disruption’
for
services
west
of
Basingstoke,
affecting
places
like
Salisbury
and
Exeter.

The
slip,
on
an
embankment
near
Hook
station,
left
only
the
up
two
tracks
of
the
four-track
main
line
undamaged.

The
line
has
now
been
closed
in
the
area,
and
there
are
no
trains
at
Hook,
Winchfield
or
Fleet. 

Network
Rail
warned
that
the
line
will
be
closed
for
a
week,
but
is
hoping
to
reopen
it
on
Monday
23
January.

Wessex
route
director
Mark
Killick
said:
‘This
is
a
huge
landslip
and
will
have
a
massive
effect.
The
main
line
to
Basingstoke
is
the
spine
of
our
railway
and
there
will
be
knock-on
impacts
across
the
route.

‘I
can
only
apologise
for
the
scale
of
the
disruption
and
please
ask
that
customers
check
before
they
travel.’

‘We
will
need
to
stabilise
the
embankment,
essentially
stopping
it
moving,
and
then
rebuild
the
railway
where
it
has
slid
away.
We’ll
keep
everyone
informed
of
our
progress.’

Network
Rail
said
the
embankment
is
made
of
a
mixture
of
London
clay
and
other
local
soils,
which
had
become
saturated
after
days
of
heavy
rain
during
a
very
wet
winter.
The
slip
happened
when
the
soil
gave
way
along
a
44
metre
section
of
the
embankment,
which
is
10
metres
high,
sliding
out
from
underneath
the
tracks
in
what
engineers
call
a
‘rotational
failure’.