More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A stretch of railway track which was closed due to a huge landslip has reopened this morning.
The line between Redhill and Tonbridge was closed on December 22 after land shifted during heavy rainfall and left the tracks dangling in mid-air.
The extent of the damage led Network Rail to declare the 100m stretch of track indefinitely closed until engineers could work out a way to rectify the damage.
But after extensive repairs the line reopened earlier.
Engineers have been working round the clock to repair the track, which is one of the largest in the history of the region's railway.
Since the route has been closed, Southern have been running a weekday shuttle bus service from Edenbridge to Tonbridge.
Network Rail’s route director for Kent, Fiona Taylor, said: "This has been an incredibly challenging landslip for us to repair and it has been a difficult time for passengers too.
Watch KMTV's report on the closure of the Tonbridge railway route
"I’m so grateful to them for their patience and understanding they’ve shown to us this winter and I’m really pleased we are able to open their railway sooner than we expected."
Following the landslip, a further 400m of railway is being shored up by engineers to prevent any further problems.
Southern's customer service director Chris Fowler said passengers affected by the closure since December 22 will be able to claim compensation.
He said: "We want everyone whose journeys have been delayed by 15 minutes or more to claim the compensation they are due.
"We have a simple claim form online and passengers can make up to five claims at a time.
"Many passengers will additionally be entitled to claim enhanced compensation because they will have been delayed many times.
"Furthermore, we declassified first class throughout the period to create as much space as possible and so passengers with first class tickets can claim the difference as well."
