A railway line has reopened after engineers discovered the track was not “as level as it needs to be”.

Network Rail says services will now run on the key route between Tonbridge and Redhill after two weeks of emergency landslip repairs at Bough Beech, near Edenbridge.

All Southern services between the two towns were cancelled due to the track defect.

Images taken two weeks ago show what appears to be a slight dip in the track.

The embankment became saturated and weakened as it was battered with recent heavy rain.

But the line reopened at 7am today after extensive repairs.

Network Rail’s Mark Killick said: “Our colleagues have worked tirelessly around the clock with our contractors over the past two weeks to repair this landslip on a complex site.

“I thank our passengers, freight customers and lineside neighbours for their patience while we have carried out this work, which has essentially been a giant underpinning operation.

“As each steel pile was installed we gained more confidence we would reopen the railway.

“The work at Bough Beech will leave this line in a much better and more reliable condition for the future.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience caused but there was no option but to get this work done when we did, especially given the need to reintroduce services in time for schools reopening after the Easter break.”

Engineers have installed 91 sheet piles - 8m long sheets of metal - and strengthened the railway embankment across a 100-metre section with steel rods underpinning the railway.

Further strengthening work will continue once trains have resumed running but this will not impact services.

Network Rail says an unprecedented 14 named storms have challenged the railway’s ability to deal with climate change.

Kent experienced its wettest February since 1836 while England had its fourth wettest since records began.

The firm says it will spend £2.8 billion between now and 2029 on measures to cope with extreme weather, including building or rebuilding 600,000 metres of drains to handle the heavier rainfall.

It also uses remote condition monitoring at key sites to help monitor ground movement and will continue to do so at Bough Beech.

About 17,000 sensors are placed at key locations across the railway, with 670 cameras monitoring the network.