West train services axed due to dry embankments

A TRAIN timetable has been cut because soil along the route is too dry.

- NEIL LANCEFIELD

South Western Railway (SWR) said it has “no alternative” but to run reduced services from London Waterloo to Devon.

This is because a lack of moisture in clay soil embankments has disturbed track levels, preventing trains from safely travelling at full speed.

This year saw the second driest spring on record for England, while summer rainfall has been just below average across the UK.

SWR said the dry conditions have removed moisture from embankments between Gillingham in Dorset and Axminster in Devon, causing them to shrink.

This has disturbed the track sitting above these embankments, so the speed limit for trains on a 12-mile stretch has been cut from 85mph to 40mph.