PASSENGERS travelling on the West Coast Main Line between Birmingham and London today (Monday) are being urged to check before they travel after a landslip on the line between Coventry and Rugby.
One of the two tracks which connect the two areas will remain closed while engineers cut back and clear vegetation from the railway embankment. This critical clearance work will help to understand the scale of the damage and to check that there is no risk of further landslips. Once this work has been completed, a full plan for repair will be confirmed.
Whilst the track from Coventry to Rugby is closed, train services in the opposite direction can still operate.
London Northwestern Railway (LNR) services between Birmingham and London Euston will run between Birmingham and Coventry and Northampton to London Euston only, with half-hourly rail replacement transport running between Coventry and Northampton.
Customers travelling with Avanti West Coast are advised trains may be delayed or cancelled. Tickets are being accepted on LNR trains on any reasonable routes, and on CrossCountry Trains between Coventry and Stafford. Tickets will also be accepted on Chiltern Trains between Birmingham Moor Street and London Marylebone; CrossCountry Trains between Birmingham New Street and Reading and Great Western Railway trains between Reading and London Paddington.
Phil Barnes, operations director for Network Rail, said: “Network Rail engineers are assessing the damage caused by a landslip between Coventry and Rugby and are working on a plan to safely reopen the affected track as soon as possible.
“With one of the two tracks in this area closed to trains, a reduced service is running through the area and we apologise for the disruption to journeys.
Jonny Wiseman, LNR customer experience director, said: “This landslip has resulted in a significant amount of earth movement next to the railway, meaning it is not safe to run trains through the area until Network Rail has completed emergency earthworks.
“Customers planning to travel between Birmingham New Street and London Euston on Monday should check their journeys before setting out, expect extended journey times and should consider using alternative routes if possible.
“Our website and social media pages are being kept up to date with the latest travel advice and we urge passengers using this area to plan ahead and check before travelling until the railway is safe to reopen.”
Dave Whitehouse, safety and security director at Avanti West Coast, said: “The landslip between Rugby and Coventry means our services to London Euston are unable to operate as normal while Network Rail complete the emergency repairs.
“We are working with Network Rail and other train operators to ensure our customers are able to still travel to and from London while this work takes place over the next days.
“The latest travel information will be on our website as well as social media. The main advice to our customers is to plan ahead before you leave, check before your travel and expect longer journey times. We would like to thank our customers for their patience at this time.”
He urged passengers to visit nationalrail.co.uk to check their journeys before setting off.
