THE railway line between Farnham and Alton is set to re-open next Wednesday – five days earlier than planned after a landslip on the embankment at Wrecclesham.

Network Rail closed the line on April 13 after engineers found the track was starting to dip, and South West Trains immediately implemented a bus replacement service for passengers.

Work began immediately to stabilise the 250-metre stretch of track by drilling reinforcing ‘piles’ eight metres into the ground and it was estimated the line would re-open on May 9.

But Network Rail is satisfied that the line can be made safe ahead of schedule and train services between Alton and Farnham will now resume next Wednesday morning.

John Halsall, Network Rail’s route managing director, said: “This is fantastic news for passengers and I’m delighted that we can re-open the line early for them.

"Our engineers faced an enormous task to bring the railway safely back into use as quickly as possible, and they really have delivered by stabilising one side of the embankment and shifting the track onto that side.

“Now that we’ve overcome the first hurdle, our attention will turn to providing a permanent solution and rebuilding the whole embankment from the bottom up.

“In the meantime, I’d like to thank passengers for their patience and our line-side neighbours for their understanding during these vital works. Our neighbours have been fantastic in working with us during this period of disruption.”

Christian Roth, managing director of South West Trains, added: “I’d like to thank our passengers for their patience during the last few weeks and the teams on site for all their hard work to get the line reopened ahead of schedule.

“We will continue to work closely with Network Rail and keep passengers informed ahead of future works to stabilise the embankment but we look forward to trains serving Alton, Bentley and Farnham stations from Wednesday morning.”