After storms and heavy rain destabilised a railway embankment at Bicester last Thursday, 11 January, which caused the Chiltern main line between London Marylebone, Oxford, and the Midlands, Network Rail has completed sufficient major repairs to reopen the line.

The line was reopened this morning, Tuesday, 16 January, after the embankment was rebuilt so that trains could safely resume running. The landslip caused 1,200 tonnes of earth to fall from the embankment in the village of Launton after persistent heavy rainfall weakened the underlying earth.

Although only one of the two tracks on the line was affected by the landslip, engineers needed to completely close the line so that it could be repaired safely. Working around the clock, Network Rail with its contractor Murphy drove 65 new steel piles into the ground next to the affected section of track and laid approximately 3,000 tonnes of ballast on top of the embankment to support the tracks.

The Chiltern main line repair has now fully reopened for passengers and freight services, although for safety reasons a speed limit will be in force through the affected section of track while engineers monitor the embankment and complete outstanding work to the complete repairs.

Anyone intending to travel over the line should check the latest travel information at www.nationalrail.co.uk.

Adam Checkley, infrastructure director for Network Rail, said: “Im sorry to passengers who’ve been affected by the closure of the Chiltern main line while we completed emergency repairs to the landslip near Bicester North station.

“I’m pleased to advise that we’ve reopened both tracks this morning initially with a reduced speed limit which means passenger and freight trains can run again. I want to thank passengers for their patience and ask those travelling to check www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest journey information.”

Richard Allan, Managing Director of Chiltern Railways, said: “I would like to thank our customers for their patience and apologise again for the significant disruption caused by the landslip on a railway embankment near Bicester. I am grateful for the hard work of all railway colleagues to plan and complete a major repair in less than five days and operate a heavily changed timetable while the work was taking place. I am really pleased that the Chiltern main line is now fully reopen and that we have returned to our usual timetable.”