Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) says major earthworks are underway in a cutting, between Winchcombe station and Greet Tunnel, in order to permanently repair a landslip that took place over the winter of 2019-2020.
The landslip happened, it says, because of a combination of prolonged heavy rain overwhelming rainwater soakaways following construction of new homes, coupled with the complex clay geology of the ground. It caused parts of the back gardens of new houses at the top of the cutting to slip towards the railway line.
A temporary repair was completed immediately after the slip occurred and now a permanent solution is being put in place.
The solution was devised by Kings Norton-based consulting engineers David Symonds Associates (DSACE) and Ground Investigation & Piling Ltd (GIP) of Kingswinford. The work is being undertaken by Walsh Construction Ltd of Worcester and Ivor King Piling of Nuneaton.
The project makes use of a 120 tonne crane and a specialist Giken piling rig which includes an auger to allow steel sheet piles to be inserted into the ground. The piles will allow the ground at the top of the cutting to be restored and remove the risk of further slips taking place.
The cost of the work is covered by insurance.
While the project goes ahead, no trains can pass south of Winchcombe station. The current sell-out ‘Santa Specials’ are therefore running from Toddington station while post-Christmas trains, between 27 December and 3 January 2022, will run between Broadway and Winchcombe to a special timetable. Cheltenham Racecourse station remains closed.
Richard Johnson, chairman of GWSR Plc said: “The work necessary to provide a permanent solution to the slip will take around 20 weeks to complete and should be finished in time for the railway to fully reopen in March 2022.
“I would like to apologise to our neighbours for the obvious noise and disturbance while this essential work is carried out – however, we have little choice but to complete the work to ensure the long-term stability of the earthworks.
“The cutting is part of the most significant earthworks on the railway which includes Greet Tunnel. It was dug over 100 years ago, with the railway opening in full in 1906,” he added.
The line through the cutting was also subject to major drainage works by British Railways in 1949.
Jonathan Symonds of DSACE pointed out: “The cuttings and embankments on the railway, which were built at the beginning of the 20th Century, are steep by modern standards while back then there was little understanding of the geotechnics and behaviour of the soils in the area. New construction close to the line has disturbed the ground, contributing to the slip.
“We have opted for a solution that uses sheet piles to stabilise the land beyond the railway’s boundary while extensive counterfort drains will be installed to stabilise the cutting slope.
“While there is absolutely no risk to the properties nearby, there is little doubt that without this work, there would over time be further loss of the back gardens of the affected properties.”
