Relief for Chesterfield and Sheffield train passengers after landslip line to reopen

Last month the hillside above the railway line through Unstone became unstable due to extremely wet weather and one of the two tracks had to be closed for safety reasons.

Initial estimates indicated services would be disrupted for four to six weeks but work on site has progressed better than expected.

Network Rail will be using a piece of kit to carry out intensive work tomorrow night and into Saturday to dig out the ground which has pushed the track up.

Phil Verster, route managing director for Network Rail, said: “I thank passengers for their patience while we complete essential work to stabilise this hillside. It is a testament to the hard work of the team on site that we will be able to re-start a service from this Saturday.”

“The work completed so far has prioritised making the track safe so that trains can run but work to fully stabilise the hillside will continue for several months yet. Trains will run at a slightly reduced speed past the worksite but this will not significantly affect journey times.”

Engineers are confident the work to stabilise the hill side can be completed without further changes to the timetable.

Mr Verster added: “The track will be carefully monitored. If any follow- up work is required, Network Rail will notify customers in advance and schedule the work to minimise disruption.”