Emergency speed restriction due to dried up track causes train disruption from Salisbury
A revised timetable will be published later this month
Last updated 30th Aug 2022
An emergency speed restriction has been put in place on the track between Tisbury and Gillingham due to the hot and dry weather, causing train disruption from Salisbury.
The clay soil underneath the embankments has dried up, causing it to shrink.
This makes track defects, meaning trains are unable to travel at full speed in the area.
This is a problem known as Soil Moisture Deficit.
Network Rail and South Western Railway say this means there are likely to be reduced services from Salisbury to Yeovil and Exeter St Davids, and journeys will take longer.
The companies also say that because the earth is still shrinking, they cannot make repairs right now.
It needs to stop moving before they repair it properly.
Later this week a temporary, revised timetable will be published.
Network Rail have also warned that there are over 100 sites they are monitoring across the Southern region for the same thing.
Network Rail’s Head of Track Engineering for Southern Region, Colum Cavanagh, said:
“We call this problem Soil Moisture Deficit and although we encounter issues with it most summers, this year has been absolutely unprecedented.
“We came into the hot season with our track in the best condition it’s ever been in, and yet now – late August – the soils around Gillingham have dried so badly the track is only able to take trains running at 40mph, down from 80mph.
“Normally we would take a piece of kit called a tamper in and sort the track out, a bit like shaking a duvet and getting it flat again. This year the problem is so bad that the soil is still shrinking and it’s going to be some weeks until it has stabilised enough for us to do the work to bring line speeds back up to normal.
“We’re very grateful for everyone’s patience as we know the changes to trains must be frustrating, but the changes are there to keep everyone safe.”