Hexham to Prudhoe rail landslide: 'Thousands of tonnes' on line

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Engineers work to clear rubble from the landslide near HexhamImage source, Network Rail
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On Wednesday 120-tonnes of rubble fell and blocked the line near Hexham

"Tens of thousands of tonnes of soil and earth are still moving" after a third landslip on a rail line between the north-east of England and Cumbria, engineers say.

Flooding caused 120-tonnes of rubble to block the rail line near Hexham and Corbridge early on Wednesday.

The line reopened on Thursday but closed again after a second landslide caused trees to fall on the track.

Northern Rail said it would be "closed for months" after a further landslip.

Image source, Network Rail
Image caption,

Network Rail said it did not yet know the extent of what it was dealing with

Toby Higgins from the company said the route between Prudhoe and Hexham would remain impassable "for the foreseeable future".

"The landslide is still moving, there's still water coming out of the bank and soil and trees coming down," he said.

"We can hear it cracking and we can hear water running behind us and it is a case of waiting and seeing what happens in the next few days."

Trains are running from Carlisle to Hexham and Newcastle to Prudhoe, with a replacement bus service in operation between Prudhoe and Hexham calling at all stations.

Engineers were "assessing the situation" but they were "looking at months before the line can reopen", Mr Higgins said.

Image source, Network Rail
Image caption,

Network Rail said it was "waiting and seeing what happens"

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