Network Rail says work to fix a landslip which has been causing chaos for commuters since last week is "progressing well".

Rail passengers have been facing disruption across the county following the sudden collapse near a piece of track in Newington, between Rainham and Sittingbourne.

The land fell away following days of heavy rainfall which contributed to the formation of a 40 metre-long crack on Friday afternoon (February 23).

It has left people unable travel by rail between Rainham and Sittingbourne.

Those commuting between Rochester and London St Pancras, Gillingham and London Victoria, Ramsgate/Dover and Sittingbourne, plus from London St Pancras International to Margate via Canterbury West, have also seen services impacted.

During the closure, a limited bus service has replaced Southeastern trains between Sittingbourne, Newington, Rainham and Gillingham.

Work remains ongoing to fix the landslip and is expected to be complete next Monday (March 4).

Yesterday Network Rail provided an updated to customers about its progress alongside new images.

A statement read: "It’s been another busy 24 hours for our teams onsite at Newington, working hard to reopen the line between Gillingham and Sittingbourne.

"Overnight, our teams were using excavators to heap up ballast and move it closer to the landslip area ready for infilling today.

"The benching is progressing well. This is where we’re cutting a series of steps into the vertical surface to help prevent debris making its way down the slope."

Since Monday, the train operator has confirmed 2,700 tonnes of stones have been placed at the bottom of the embankment and close to the landslip to reduce the gradient and stabilise it.

It comes after the company's geotechnical and structures experts discovered land slipped about five metres down the embankment.

Noise and vibration sensors are also being installed so the operator can monitor, and where possible, reduce disruption to residents living nearby.

Network Rail's Bob Coulson has apologised to those facing delays.

Speaking on Sunday, the infrastructure director for Kent said: “I’m really sorry for the disruption.

“The safety of our customers and colleagues is always our number one priority, and we’ve unfortunately had to close the railway through this area to allow our engineers to go in and complete emergency repairs.

“We’re acutely aware of how critical this route is for rail passengers, and we’ll be working tirelessly to repair and stabilise the embankment as quickly as possible so we can reintroduce services.

“We’re working closely with our colleagues at Southeastern to develop a plan so customers are still able to get to where they need to go.”

Meanwhile, Southeastern’s operations and safety director, Scott Brightwell, added: “Please allow additional time for your journey and we expect queuing arrangements to be in place at busy times.

“There will also be changes to our usual timetable on other routes with some services cancelled and others expected to be extremely busy.

“Full details are on the Southeastern website and online journey planners are up to date, please check before you travel.”