RAIL services between Lydney and Gloucester are back up and running after Network Rail completed the first phase of £25 million works to stabilise a landslip-prone cliff face.

The line has been closed for seven weeks this summer due to the planned works to shore up the cliff between Purton and Awre, with five major landslips having “devastated” a three-mile stretch of the line since 2020.

Hundreds of employees and contractors worked “day and night” in the “dusty conditions” and searing heat of the hottest summer on record to complete the vital resilience works.

The first phase began on July 18, with more than 15,000 tonnes of material removed by excavator from the “steep” face and taken away by train for recycling.

Exisiting mesh was removed before rope teams moved onto the slope to install erosion control matting, using 27,000 square metres of new mesh secured by more than 1,000 soil nails, drilled to a depth of 10m.

More than 700 staff from Network Rail and contractors Taziker worked just over 60,000 hours across the seven weeks - including during the two summer heatwaves - where temperatures on site often exceeded 35 degrees. 

The works are part of Network Rail’s Severn Estuary Resilience programme to secure the future of the “critical” line that connects South Wales with the West Country, the Midlands and the north of England.

More than 200,000 train services have been affected by landslips on the line through closures and speed restrictions.

Nick Millington, interim route director at Network Rail Wales and Borders said of the project: “I would, firstly, like to thank passengers and the local community for their patience while we’ve carried out the first phase of this vital work here on the Severn Estuary.  

“I also want to thank our teams who have safely worked around the clock in challenging, dusty conditions, in temperatures of up to 37 degrees during the hottest summer on record. We are committed, through projects like this, to making our railway more resilient to the effects of climate change, so we can continue to deliver low carbon, safe and efficient travel for our passengers and freight partners, for generations to come.”

Taziker’s operations director Phil Jones said the scheme presented “many unique challenges” that they were able to overcome with “minimum impact on the local community and on the environment.”

Drone footage of the works being caried out can be viewed at www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news.