Hook landslip: Broken-down crane stops Basingstoke to Woking trains

The crane working on the Hook landslip repairs overnight broke down

Trains were halted after a crane working on repairs to a major landslip broke down.

The engineering train mounted with a crane was being used on the Hook landslip repairs overnight.

It meant trains were unable to run on the line between Basingstoke and Woking.

Network Rail Wessex said a mechanic brought in to fix it had managed to move the crane allowing the line to reopen shortly after 09:00 GMT.

South Western Railway said disruption on the line with services cancelled, delayed or revised was expected until 12:00.

The landslip, affecting a 144ft (44m) stretch of railway embankment, happened near Hook after heavy rain on 15 January.

Following temporary repair work trains to Waterloo from Weymouth, Bournemouth, Southampton, Exeter and Salisbury, which were terminating at Basingstoke, are now running again.

The full repairs are expected to take several more weeks.

A section of track near Hook was left hanging in mid-air following the landslip on 15 January