MORE than 30,000 tonnes of earth has been moved from the landslip blocking the rail line between Banbury and Leamington Spa.

Work began to clear the line which was blocked on January 31 by a 350,000 tonne landslide by the entrance of the Harbury tunnel. It will remain closed for several weeks.

Government Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin visited the site on Thursday. He said: “I regret that rail passengers are still being inconvenienced by this serious landslip, but Network Rail’s main priority is to re-open the line as quickly as possible and when it is safe to do so.”

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Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne said: “Our priority is to reopen the line as quickly as possible. Progress has been made and we have removed more than 30,000 tonnes of earth from the site. However with the landslip being made up of around 350,000 tonnes, there is still much to do.”

Those using Chiltern Railway and Crosscountry services should check nationalrail.co.uk