No trains on Horsham-Dorking line after landslip damage

Network Rail engineers and contractors have begun work repairing a 30 metre landslip on the railway between Horsham and Dorking near Ockley station. No trains have been able to run on the line since Christmas.

Southern trains that normally run between Horsham and Dorking are suspended between those stations, while some other services are being diverted.

Network Rail route director for Sussex, Shaun King, said: “I’m really sorry that essential workers in the area are facing more difficult journeys this week and our team are working as hard as they can to get the railway back to normal as soon as possible.

“We’re also aware that our neighbours in the area won’t have been expecting this work to appear on their doorsteps this festive period and I appreciate their patience with us while we get to work.

“Our aim is to return the railway to full use on January 4, at the start of the working week, however that depends on a lot of variables we are still working on, including ground surveys and ecological checks.”

Southern train services director Andre Harlock said: “I’m sorry for the disruption the landslip is causing. There are far fewer people travelling due to the Christmas period and pandemic restrictions, but those who are will need to take a different route, so please allow extra time.

“We have full travel advice at www.southernrailway.com where you can also claim Delay Repay compensation if you are delayed by 15 minutes or more. Please note that some online journey planners may not show train changes until the day before you travel.”

The railway through Ockley runs on an embankment built from local Wealden clay in the Victorian period. A section of this just under a mile north of Ockley station became saturated during December’s heavy rains and slowly sunk under its own weight over the days between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.

The London-bound track is the worst affected, but both lines have been closed for safety reasons.

Engineers plan on creating a wall of steel sheet piles to shore it up, once ground investigations and ecological surveys have been completed.

Network Rail Southern region’s route asset manager for geotechnics, Derek Butcher, said: “Wealden clay is not a material we would build railways on these days, but our Victorian ancestors weren’t so advanced with their knowledge of soil mechanics.

“Clay absorbs water like a sponge and once it reaches saturation – where it can’t absorb any more - it loses its strength.

“In this case part of it has slid out from underneath the weight of the railway embankment, what we call a shallow rotational failure, and the track has dipped down above it.”