London Midland apologise to passengers as rail services get back up and running this morning following landslide

Rail commuters have been back on the move again this morning following a landslip which shut down services for three days on Friday.
London Midland services are severely disrupted this morningLondon Midland services are severely disrupted this morning
London Midland services are severely disrupted this morning

Two lines - one northbound, one southbound - were shut on the West Coast Main Line over the weekend as Network Rail engineers recovered two damaged trains and repaired the railway.

Martin Frobisher, route managing director for Network Rail which manages the UK’s rail system, said: “I’m pleased to confirm today we have re-opened the both the lines through Watford tunnel and trains are running again.

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“Our orange army engineers made good progress over the weekend. They cleared all the slip debris off the tracks and removed the damaged trains from the tunnel. They also repaired the railway, including replacing 50 concrete sleepers, and welded in new sections of track.”

Patrick Verwer, managing director of London Midland which runs the route from Northampton to Euston, said: “I would like to apologise for the disruption over the last few days.

“I would also like to thank our passengers. Everyone has shown great patience and understanding while many responded to our appeal to delay journeys or take alternative routes. This meant made it easier for people who had no option but to use the reduced services while Network Rail colleagues repaired the track.”

The slip on the embankment at the north entrance to the tunnel was hit by a southbound train on Friday, causing some of its front wheels to come off the tracks.

Another train, which entered the tunnel heading north at the same moment, clipped the southbound train.