Collapse of retaining wall halts Cotswold Line trains

Update 9am Tuesday, February 14:

Train services are now running again between Charlbury and Moreton-in-Marsh.

They are operating hourly each way between Worcester Shrub Hill and Charlbury, with some services extended to/from Worcester Foregate Street, Great Malvern or Hereford.

Replacement buses are in operation to serve Hanborough and connect other stations with Oxford.

Details of services are available in online journey planners.

The line is expected to remain closed for the rest of today and tomorrow.

Click here for the latest updates from GWR.

Update 5pm Monday, February 13: A note from Network Rail

Update 1.30pm Monday, February 13: The line has been closed again. A note from GWR & Network Rail:

We wanted to update you following a landslip next to the railway between Oxford and Hanborough in Oxfordshire that occurred on Friday evening, meaning that section of line is currently closed and is likely to be closed until the weekend.

A landslip near Yarnton in Oxfordshire happened on the line, as well as parts of Cassington Road bridge collapsing meaning the line has been blocked. Network Rail engineers are onsite investigating the causes and working on a solution to safely reopen the railway and the road bridge as soon as possible, however due to the complexities it is likely to closed until the weekend.

The line between Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh remains closed today. We have rail replacement buses in place between Moreton-in-Marsh and Oxford, and a shuttle rail service between Moreton-in-Marsh and Worcester. GWR Worcester-London services will run on a diversionary route via Swindon and we also have ticket acceptance in place with Chiltern, CrossCountry, Avanti West Coast and West Midlands Trains.

Journeys can be checked at https://www.journeycheck.com/greatwesternrailway/ where customers can also sign up for specific alerts.

We will be in touch again once we know when the line will reopen.

If there’s anything we can do to help, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Best wishes

Tom & Toby

Thomas Lydon | Public Affairs Manager | Great Western Railway

Toby Elliott, Head of Communications, Network Rail Western

Update, 5pm, Sunday, February 12: The line has now reopened, after a temporary retaining wall was built by Network Rail engineers – a 5mph speed restriction is in place past the bridge. Click the link below for more details

Train services on the Cotswold Line are being disrupted for a third day after debris from a collapsed retaining wall on a bridge landed on the tracks between Oxford and Hanborough.

The collapse occurred during the early evening on Friday, February 10, with the 17.34 from London Paddington to Hereford suffering damage when it ran into the debris at the Yarnton Road overbridge at about 6.35pm. More than 360 passengers on board had to be escorted along the track to another train to be rescued.

As a result, an emergency timetable was implemented, with buses replacing trains at stations between Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh.

The line was blocked all day on Saturday and was expected to remain closed all day on Sunday, while Network Rail engineers carried out work to stabilise the road embankment and repair the retaining wall.

GWR tickets are being accepted by West Midlands Railway, Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways and CrossCountry Trains to allow passengers between Worcestershire and London and Worcestershire and Oxford to travel via Birmingham.

Passengers can also use GWR services via Swindon and Gloucester to travel between Worcester, Reading and London.

Click here for the latest updates on the situation from GWR.

Pictures: Network Rail