Landslide forces an entire railway line in UK to close

A railway that connects the town of Hastings and London was forced to stop operating after a landslide occurred earlier this week.

Due to the 400-tons landslide, part of track near Barnehurst was covered with debris. Bexleyheath Line will remain closed at least until the weekend according to Southeastern Railway, the railway's operating company. 

The landslide occurred in an embankment at Wadhurst, south of Tunbridge Wells and was caused by strong winds and torrential rain that saturates the soil layers. Engineers reported that the ground is still moving and therefore repairs may be delayed until the situation is stabilized.

"Earlier this morning (March 11, 2019) there was a landslip on a railway cutting between Barnehurst and Bexleyheath, resulting in 400 tons of debris and trees falling to the track. As a result, the line is blocked in both directions. Because of this, Network Rail have had to close the Bexleyheath Line between Blackheath and Barnehurst until at least the weekend to allow for repairs to take place," a spokesman of Southeastern Railway stated.

The adjacent parts of the track also need to be closed in order to carry the repair work. Engineers decided to implement a method called H piling to stop the landslide reoccurring. This technique suggests inserting H-shaped steel beams into the soil that prevent additional displacements.

Officials state that severe restoration works need to be carried out in order to re-open the line. Passengers that used Bexleyheath, Barnehurst, Welling, Falconwood, Eltham and Kidbrooke stations need to find an alternative route until the line, which normally carried up to 12 trains per hour, is operational.

 Sources: Standard.co.uk, Express.co.uk