A landslip next to the railway line between Rainham and Sittingbourne in Kent will cause disruption to train services in the area until at least next Monday, 4 March.

The landslip occurred at Newington last Friday, 23 February after heavy rainfall.

Upon inspecting the site, Network Rail‘s experts discovered a crack 40 metres long and material that had slipped around five metres down the embankment, forcing the lines to be closed for safety reasons.

During the suspension of train services, a limited bus service will operate between Sittingbourne, Newington, Rainham and Gillingham.

Amended services will operate between London Victoria and Gillingham, via Denmark Hill; London St Pancras and Rochester; Sittingbourne and Dover Priory, and Sittingbourne and Ramsgate.

Work started to repair the landslip yesterday evening, Sunday 25 February, and engineers will work around the clock to stabilise the embankment, aiming to resume train services next Monday, 4 March.

Repairs will include excavating the slipped material and creating a new profile for the embankment by cutting steps into the slope before backfilling it with 3,000 tonnes of stone to help reduce its gradient and strengthen it.

Noise and vibration sensors will also be installed to allow Network Rail to continually monitor the embankment and reduce disruption to nearby residents where possible.

Bob Coulson, Network Rail’s Kent route infrastructure director said: “I’m really sorry for the disruption customers are experiencing following a landslip at Newington. The safety of our customers and colleagues is always our number one priority and we’ve unfortunately had to close the railway through this area to allow our engineers to go in and complete emergency repairs.

“We’re acutely aware of how critical this route is for rail passengers, and we’ll be working tirelessly over this coming week to repair and stabilise the embankment as quickly as possible so we can reintroduce services.

“We’re working closely with our colleagues at Southeastern to develop a plan so customers are still able to get to where they need to go.

“I’d like to thank customers and local residents for their patience and understanding while we complete this work.”

Southeastern’s operations and safety director, Scott Brightwell, said: “We are very sorry for the disruption to our services between Sittingbourne and Gillingham, and the impact it is having on our customers. Every effort has been made to open the line, but it will take more time to do the necessary safety repairs.

“If you do need to travel and have no alternative options then we are running a limited bus service between Sittingbourne and Gillingham while the line is closed. Please allow additional time for your journey and we expect queuing arrangements to be in place at busy times.

“There will also be changes to our usual timetable on other routes with some services cancelled and others expected to be extremely busy. Full details are on the Southeastern website and online journey planners will be updated, please check before you travel.

“If anyone is delayed by an additional 15 minutes on their journey, they can also claim Delay Repay compensation on our website.”