Fareham-Eastleigh: Railway line reopens after works to stabilise slope

Dozens of 82ft-long (25m) steel nails have been drilled into a slope and reinforced with concrete

The railway line between Fareham and Eastleigh has reopened following work to prevent a landslip.

The line near Fareham tunnel shut on Monday after Network Rail engineers noticed land movement following recent heavy rainfall.

The work included drilling more than 260 82ft-long (25m) soil steel nails into the slope to protect the railway.

Trains were diverted or replaced by buses during the five-day closure.

Engineers found the site close to Fareham tunnel was at risk of a landslip

In 2022, Network Rail spent £2.3m easing the gradient of the cutting.

About 5,000 tonnes of soft clay were excavated and an 262ft-long (80m) retaining wall was built.

Network Rail said the recently detected earth movement was found at a different part of the cutting from the 2022 works.

It said the works completed in 2022 had not been impacted by the recent poor weather conditions and no earth movements have been detected in that area.

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