Contributing Writer rail@bauermedia.co.uk
A second landslip at Crewkerne tunnel in Somerset closed the West of England line on January 4, with all services suspended between Yeovil and Exeter for two days.
It followed an earlier landslip at the same location in December (RAIL 999).
Pictures of the landslip above the tunnel portal show the new earth movement was directly beside previous repairs, which had been carried out one month earlier during a closure of more than a week when no trains could run.
It happened despite the site being closely monitored by Network Rail’s Wessex Route, with remote sensing earth movement detectors installed on both sides of the cutting, and sandbags placed alongside the track to shore up the fragile ground.
Network Rail warned that “more landslips are inevitable”.
The impact on passengers was compounded by flooding also blocking the Great Western route from Reading to Exeter via Newbury and Westbury, with the lines under water at numerous locations.
The West of England line had closed because of a landslip at Crewkerne following nine centimetres of rainfall on December 4. During that repair, Passengers who travelled on the Kirkby line in 2023 will receive their money back, as a gesture of goodwill announced by Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram.
It applies to season tickets bought in 2023 for Fazakerley, Kirkby or Headbolt Lane stations. “Further announcements are planned” for ordinary ticket holders.
The move follows problems with Stadler’s new £500 million train fleet. A three trains per hour service has now been introduced, with Merseyrail hoping to restore the 15-minute timetable “as soon as possible”.
“We anticipated some teething issues, but services on the Kirkby line have fallen short of the standards passengers deserve,” said Rotherham, who met Stadler in November 2023 and “made clear, in no uncertain terms, his dissatisfaction” with the disruption.
Network Rail removed 300 tonnes of clay, soil and vegetation.
And only three weeks prior to that landslip, Network Rail had closed the line between November 6-10 at the same location, for a planned blockade to improve the cutting sides.
Passengers have therefore seen services suspended three times in three months because of the instability at Crewkerne, raising questions about how successful the earlier work has been.
Nick Hurrell, of the Salisbury to Exeter Rail Users Group, lives nearby.
“The rain was as torrential as the storm which caused the issues last month,” he said.
“There see
