Landslip at Hook, no trains from Basingstoke towards London

[whole diary]

[stuving]

NR^» (Network Rail - home page) have put up a page - with a video - about what they are going to do at the site.

[paul7575]

There’s a video on YouTube of the temporary route from down fast over to the up fast and back, taken from a train passing through:
https://youtu.be/hSE3_1x8wu8

[Marlburian]

On my environmental task today, a "trees expert" responsible for many of the saplings that have been planted by volunteers on Reading verges, suggested that the landslip was caused by trees having been removed from the sides of the embankment. One might guess that the stumps had been treated, resulting in the decay of the roots and subsequent soil disturbance.

[stuving]

On my environmental task today, a "trees expert" responsible for many of the saplings that have been planted by volunteers on Reading verges, suggested that the landslip was caused by trees having been removed from the sides of the embankment. One might guess that the stumps had been treated, resulting in the decay of the roots and subsequent soil disturbance.

The embankment in question was built in 1900, when the line was redoubled. At the time there was a lot of press comment about how unstable both embankments and cuttings were in that area, with slips quite common. Perhaps surprisingly it was cuttings that were worse for that, and in particular just after being constructed - one big slip happened during the 1900 works.

At this specific site there was a big slip in 1951, and on the other side (i.e. in the original embankment) a bigger one in 1960. There is a culverted stream there, and the land is marked as "liable to flooding" on old maps. So after a lot of rain the embankment is sitting in a swamp. One of the 1960 articles says about cuttings that the problem of landslips "has now been largely overcome by the planting of trees".

But I gather that has had adverse effects too, when the trees get too big and the ground is clay. The trees exaggerate the wet/dry cycle by pumping out water is the summer, and this breaks up the clay and allows slip planes to form. No doubt the recommended action plan now starts with "if possible, don't start from here".

[stuving]

A date has now been announced for full reopening - and it's 24th February, so sooner than first suggested. From NR^» (Network Rail - home page):

VIDEO UPDATE: Network Rail announces date to reopen all four lines through Hook in Hampshire as major landslip repairs continue
[There is a video - it's just the man talking - and I haven't managed to extract a link to it to go here (it's using Wistia).]

Engineers working around the clock to repair a huge landslip at Hook in Hampshire aiming to reopen all four lines by Friday 24 February.

Following the landslip, it was only possible to run one train every 90 minutes between Basingstoke and Woking. A short time later, Network Rail took the unusual step of reconfiguring the track layout onto a stable section of the embankment to enable six trains an hour to run through the area.

Although this has provided an improved train service over the past few weeks whilst the embankment repairs continued, it means our engineers need to close the railway again once the embankment is repaired to reinstate the track layout to its original position.

Here's route director Mark Killick on where we are:

So, what does it mean for customers?

    Once the embankment repairs are completed, from the start of service on Monday 13 February, trains travelling towards Basingstoke can call at Hook again. Trains will continue to run at a reduced frequency.
    From Monday 13 February until Thursday 23 February, engineers will close the railway between Farnborough and Basingstoke early each night to restore the track layout, which means alterations to late night and early morning services.
    The last through services between London Waterloo station and Basingstoke (stopping), Portsmouth Harbour via Eastleigh, Salisbury and Weymouth will depart much earlier than usual.
    South Western Railway (SWR^» (South Western Railway - about)) are securing rail replacement buses to operate between Woking/Farnborough and Basingstoke after 10pm each evening.
    Services for Monday 13 to Friday 17 February will be updated in Journey Planners by the morning of Friday 10 February. Services from Saturday 18 to Friday 24 February are being finalised and will be updated as soon as possible.
    Customers are asked to check before they travel and allow extra time to complete their journeys.
    From Friday 24 February, all four lines will reopen, and the full timetable will be reinstated, however Network Rail engineers and SWR will work hard to reinstate some services sooner, if possible.

    Mark Killick, Network Rail’s Wessex route director, said: “We’d like to thank customers and residents living alongside the railway for their patience while we’ve carried out this major repair.

    “Fixing the landslip at Hook has been an incredibly tough and complicated job. I’m so sorry our customers will have to endure more disruption before we can reopen all four lines. Unfortunately, there is no perfect solution, but this approach is the least disruptive to our customers overall.

    “We’ve taken the difficult decision to carry out the track layout work over multiple nights because I recognise how important it is to provide a direct service to and from London and the south west, particularly as the Portsmouth Direct Line will be closed from the 11 to 19 of February as part of a multi-million-pound upgrade that has been planned for more than two years.

    “It’s crucial this work goes ahead because customers wouldn’t see the benefits soon enough and it would cost taxpayers a fortune to reschedule and cause more disruptive closures in the future.”

    Stuart Meek, South Western Railway’s chief operating officer, said: “The landslip at Hook has caused our customers significant disruption for more than three weeks now, so it is welcome news to hear we are a step closer to the embankment repairs being completed.

    “To give Network Rail the time they need to realign the tracks, whilst also considering the large amount of engineering work across the rest of our network, we will need to make some changes to our late night and early morning services.

    “We will confirm these alterations just as soon as we can. We’re very grateful for our customers’ continued patience through what has been a frustrating period of disruption.”

[stuving]

Well, this link out of NR^» (Network Rail - home page)'s page code does at least run - it's not really embedded, but then Wistia say it's not a URL!

Run video

[stuving]

All four lines are now open, according to the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page).

Hook landslip: Rail disruption ends as line reopens after repairs

But, as one line opens, another closes:

Incident created    24/02/2023 09:15
Last updated         24/02/2023 09:23
Route affected    Between Weybridge / Windsor & Eton Riverside / Reading and London Waterloo
     
    Due to a wartime bomb near the railway between Ashford and Staines all lines are currently closed. As a result, trains may be cancelled or delayed.

    Disruption is expected until 16:00.

[stuving]

    Due to a wartime bomb near the railway between Ashford and Staines all lines are currently closed. As a result, trains may be cancelled or delayed.

    Disruption is expected until 16:00.

[/quote]

It turns out that was not really a BOMB sort of bomb. Took 25 minutes to sort it.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “On Friday, February 24 at approximately 8.27am police were called to Redford Close, Feltham to reports of an unexploded device. Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) attended the scene and the device was deemed safe a short time later and removed. No further action was required.”

Didn't the same thing happen in the same place a couple of years ago?