Completion of £13.2m project to successfully stabilise 130-year-old embankment in Morpeth

Trains have been running at reduced speeds on this section of the East Coast Main Line since February 2021 after movements in the ground caused a landslip, weakening the embankment which supports the railway.

Between May and October 2022, more than 4,000m of steel (around two-and-a-half miles) and 4,000 tonnes of concrete was installed as part of the piling process – which involves driving foundations, or piles, deep into the ground – making sure the embankment remains strong and stable.

With the stabilisation work now finished, trains can now run at normal speeds once more.

Jonny Ham, lead portfolio manager for Network Rail’s East Coast route, said: “I’m very pleased this essential work is now complete, allowing the embankment to remain safe with trains running at normal speed once again.

“Passengers can now look forward to smoother, more reliable journeys in Northumberland.”

Trevor Watson, a member of the South East Northumberland Rail User Group, is a retired track maintenance engineer.

He said the site had been a concern for more than 50 years, when he joined British Rail, so he was relieved Network Rail had finally resolved the problem.

He added: “The embankment was monitored by the railway’s soil mechanics department, and was known as Morpeth Slip as the four tracks here, two main lines and two loop lines were gradually sinking.

"Thirty seven years ago I helped install a drain to the toe of the embankment to collect the water seeping through and I reckon over the years, the embankment must have sunk at least one metre as the signal cable troughing route installed level with the track in the 1960s was this amount below the tracks when I retired in 2009.

"It is good news that Network Rail has come up with a solution to this problem as the track had a 30mph safety speed restriction imposed, when the line speed is 70mph here.”