MAJOR disruption is expected for train services following a large landslip in Hampshire, damaging the main line from London.
 
The journeys of thousands of commuters from Hampshire are set to be disrupted for the start of the week.
 

The incident, on an embankment to the northeast of Hook station, has left one of the tracks hanging in mid-air and one other track damaged.

Commuters have been warned of major disruption and are being advised by South Western Railway to check before they travel as there will be major changes to train services for some time.

The guidance for Monday, January 16 is to not travel from south or west of Basingstoke, including Winchester and Andover, towards London, or from London towards the south or west, of Basingstoke.

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

Basingstoke Gazette:

“I can only apologise for the scale of the disruption and please ask that customers check before they travel this week, not just on the affected section, but all the way up the line to London Waterloo, where many of the trains that would use this section of railway start and finish their journeys.

“We’re still assessing the damage and it’s difficult to put a detailed timescale in place, but we know it’s going to be at least a week.

“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 and I can only say thank you to everyone for their patience and apologise again for the disruption.

"Please look out for further updates from South Western Railway on the revised timetable, once this has been able to be confirmed.”

The slip has left only two tracks of the four-track railway passable by trains, with both tracks designed to be used by London-bound trains only.

The embankment is made up of a mixture of London Clay and other local soils and has been saturated by days of heavy rain and the wet winter.

The incident happened when the soil gave way along a 44m section of 10m high embankment, sliding out from underneath the tracks, in what engineers have called a “rotational failure”.

Network Rail and its suppliers are working on designs for the work needed to repair the railway, which will give a clearer idea of timescales. A train plan with journey options for customers on the route will be published as soon as possible.