Landslide Exeter rail line to close again this weekend

The landslide near Honiton had closed the line but it has now reopened with a speed limit

Rail disruption on the Axminster to Exeter line will continue this weekend with a full line closure.

The railway was closed on Monday after a landslip near Honiton covered the tracks in debris.

It was reopened on Tuesday after teams cleared the tracks amid delays and cancellations, but a 20mph speed limit remains in place through the tunnel.

On Saturday and Sunday the line will close again, with services running only between London Waterloo and Axminster.

During this time, engineers will carry out planned maintenance, while work will also continue on landslip repairs.

The landslide near Honiton had closed the railway line but it has now reopened with a speed limit

There will be replacement buses between Axminister and Exeter St Davids, South Western Railway (SWR) said.

However, it warned there "may be some occasional gaps" in these services due to a nationwide shortage of drivers.

It said: "First buses may be later than planned and last buses may be earlier than planned."

Network Rail said "more follow-up work" was needed this weekend.

Promising a further update on Monday, a spokeswoman said a lifting of the speed limit would "depend on how it goes".

She added: "Of course, this may have a slight knock-on effect to some journeys for passengers."

On Monday, Mark Killick, from Network Rail, said the landslip underscored the need for recent stabilisation works.

"We're delivering a scheme to stabilise the embankment but that work is ongoing," he said.

"We've been carrying out work right along the line to prevent this sort of thing, but there is still work to be done."