Chiltern main line secured from landslips
EARTH BESIDE the Chiltern main line in Warwickshire has been secured from landslips to provide more reliable and safer journeys for passengers. Network Rail engineers stabilised a slope on the south side of Harbury Tunnel, between Leamington Spa and Banbury, as part of a £9m investment. The major improvements began in December 2019 and workers left the site on March 5. From start to finish the major earth moving project work took 15 months to carry out. The underground conditions in the area have caused problems for the railway more or less since it opened in 1852.
Most recently, in 2015, 300,000 tonnes of earth moved on the north side of Harbury Tunnel, forcing the route closure between the Midlands and London for six weeks. Large nails and piles were dug into the slopes beside the tracks to make them stronger. A new retaining wall has also been built at the bottom of the railway cutting to prevent soil movement.
Emma Gray, Scheme Project Manager at Network Rail, said: “This significant investment to secure this part of the Chiltern main line will ensure reliable journeys for passengers between Birmingham and London for many decades to come. The ground here, made up of layers of limestone and shale, can be unstable and could potentially cause issues for the railway running through it. This preventative work will stop future slips and make it much more secure. We know Harbury very well after the huge landslip in 2015 and I want to thank the local community for their patience while we carried out this important work to protect the railway.”