Appleby landslip: Part of Settle to Carlisle route 'shut for months'

Tracks were damaged in the landslip

A section of the Carlisle to Settle rail line is to be closed for months after a landslide, rail bosses said.

Services had been running on one track at Appleby since the landslide two weeks ago, but have now been halted after further movement at Eden Brow.

Network Rail said it was no longer safe to run services as tracks had been left badly twisted.

Trains will run between Leeds and Appleby and a bus service will run between Appleby and Carlisle.

'Slip accelerating'

Martin Frobisher, the firm's route managing director, said: "An estimated 500,000 tonnes of earth has moved already and the embankment is still moving.

"Our monitoring has detected a twist fault in the tracks caused by the ground movement.

"The slip is accelerating and it is not safe to run trains in this situation.

"The extent of this landslip means it is no longer safe for this section of railway to be open to trains."

Aerial footage shows how the ground along the track moved