Time lapse video shows Milton Keynes rail line being repaired after Storm Christoph caused major landslip

The West Coast mainline between Milton Keynes and Birmingham, is clear again, with the rail line scheduled to reopen tomorrow (February 13).

Network Rail workers spent 17 days completely rebuilding a railway embankment at Hillmorton Junction, just south of Rugby, after land started to slip underneath the tracks on Wednesday 27 January.

Among other achievements the engineers rebuilt an embankment 10 metres high and 40 metres wide, laid 10,000 tonnes of new stone to improve drainage and set new foundations and installed special pins to prevent any future movement.

A video can be found on the Network Rail website showing the engineers' efforts.

This mass landslide was caused by the extreme heavy rain during Storm Christoph. Leading to emergency repairs which meant train services were diverted to Northampton and 30 minute delays on certain journeys.

The work has been finished two days ahead of schedule. Ellen Wintle, infrastructure director for Network Rail’s West Coast South route, said: "I’m really proud of my team for working all hours to get this vital section of the West Coast main line secure and back up and running again for our passenger and freight customers.

"“Because this landslip was spotted early we were able to control the damage and carry out repairs quickly, reducing the length of time passengers and freight would be disrupted. I thank people whose essential journeys were slightly longer during the work for their patience while we worked tirelessly to make the railway safe and secure again.”

Gus Dunster, executive director of operations & safety for Avanti West Coast, also paid tribute to the engineers hard work, he said: "We would like to thank Network Rail’s team of engineers for working around the clock, in challenging weather conditions, to get the line reopened so quickly.

"We have worked hard with all our industry partners to keep delays and disruption to a minimum during these works, and we would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding during this time.”