Rail services on a line which passes through parts of north Dorset and east Devon have been suspended following a tunnel landslip.

The landslip happened at Crewkerne tunnel on the Exeter-Waterloo line on Monday following an intense period of rain.

It has been announced that South Western Railway (SWR) services will not run between Exeter and Salisbury until Monday, December 11 as Network Rail engineers work to remove around 100 tonnes of clay, soil and vegetation from around the tunnel entrance.

A replacement bus service will be in operation for the next few days.

Matt Pocock, Network Rail Wessex route director, said: “I would like to say how sorry we are for the disruption passengers are experiencing following a landslip at Crewkerne tunnel.

“We’ve experienced over 90mm of sustained heavy rain over the past 48 hours and this has resulted in movement in the earth on the cutting above the tunnel entrance which, if action isn’t taken, could spill over onto the tracks and risk the safety of passenger services.

“Our team of engineers are already working extremely hard day and night and in all conditions to remove over 100 tonnes of debris and will be doing all they can so we can reopen the line and passengers can resume travelling on Monday morning.”

Dorset Echo:

Inspections were completed on Monday night and Tuesday morning to assess the situation. Engineers then used ropes to abseil down the cutting, working to remove vegetation before excavating the debris.

Engineers are currently excavating by hand, lowering the debris to the track via chutes. A long reach excavator will also be brought in and situated on top of the tunnel, using an extra-long arm and bucket to help with the removal of the debris.

Further disruption has been caused due to the ASLEF strike action on the SWR network today (Wednesday) with an extremely limited service running on a small number of lines, and no services running all day west of Salisbury.

Steve Tyler, SWR Performance and Planning Director, said: “We’re really sorry that the emergency closure of Crewkerne tunnel means we won’t be able to serve stations between Salisbury and Exeter St David’s until Monday.

“We know how disruptive this is for customers in run up to Christmas, so our teams are examining potential ways to run an extremely limited service between Salisbury and Yeovil Junction via Westbury in the coming days. Please check our website for the latest updates.”