27.01.14
Ockley railway to reopen in February
Work is underway to repair a storm-damaged section of the Surrey railway, Network Rail has announced.
On Christmas Eve a 40m stretch of embankment near Ockley station collapsed due to heavy rain. Engineers are now on site to fix the damage, which saw 1,000 tonnes of spoil fall down the slope.
Network Rail’s route managing director Tim Robinson said: “It has been a considerable challenge just to get to this stage, as we’ve had to build a new road to bring our plant to the site of the slip. Now we are underway things are going well, and we’ve begun to install a wall of sheet piles.
“These are partly buried in the ground, to form a new base to the embankment. We will then need to deliver between four and five thousand tonnes of new material to fill the gap before we can begin to run trains again.
“This has been a difficult time for passengers on this line and we appreciate their patience. The weather over Christmas really was unprecedented and we are gradually getting the railway back to where we want it.”
The line is expected to return to full service in early to mid February.
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