Network Rail is advising passengers that the line between Tonbridge and Redhill is set to be closed for at least two weeks whilst urgent repairs are completed to the embankment next to the railway.

Repeated track defects have been dealt with at this site due to the movement in the embankment, the most recent of which happened over the Easter weekend.

Network Rail is now preparing to complete more substantial work on the embankment to address the underlying issues.

Network Rail says it is working with local environmental and ecological specialists to minimise any impact on the wildlife and says that it will share further details in the coming days.

“We are really sorry for the disruption that this lengthy closure will cause for customers, and we are working around the clock to get this line back up and running. The work that we are doing now will leave this line in a much better and more reliable state for the future.

“In recent months we’ve seen extreme levels of rain, including the wettest February in this part of the country for 200 years. This has put stress on parts of our infrastructure, particularly earthworks. We are working on site now to understand the cause and full extent of the problem and we will share more updates as soon as we can on how long we expect this repair work to take”.

Mark Killick, Network Rail’s Engineering and Asset Management Director