Honiton: No through trains to London this weekend after landslip left a 44-metres of track suspended in mid-air

There will be a severely reduced service on the railway from Honiton to London Waterloo as Network Rail carry out emergency restorative work. 

All trains from Honiton to Waterloo will terminate at Basingstoke where passengers will be taken on a rail replacement bus to Woking. 

Earlier this week, a landslip occurred near Basingstoke causing a rail replacement bus service from Basingstoke to Woking. It caused disruption to all trains travelling through Hook to London Waterloo, which includes trains from Honiton, Weymouth and Bournemouth.  

Passengers were asked to avoid all but the most essential travel.

South Western Railway (SWR) have now announced a reduced timetable for the weekend, which will also repair works to take place on Saturday 21 January and Sunday 22 January.

The work will enable SWR to restore through trains from Honiton to London Waterloo, albeit at reduced frequency. This weekend's work will be a temporary solution to allow trains to run, but the permanent restoration of the embankment is likely to take a number of weeks. 

It is hoped that services on Monday 23 will run at a reduced frequency, but passengers are urged to check the latest travel information here.

Claire Mann, Managing Director of South Western Railway, commented: "We are very sorry for the ongoing disruption due to the landslip at Hook on Saturday 14, which has meant a severely reduced service on one of the country's busiest railway lines.

"Our colleagues at Network Rail are working around the clock and their work over the weekend means we will be able to reinstate direct services from London to Exeter and Weymouth on Monday 23, albeit with a reduced frequency."