The railway line from Colchester to Clacton and Walton-on-the-Naze will be closed until the start of next week as Network Rail engineers struggle to repair a landslip.
Part of an embankment at Thorrington between Alresford and Great Bentley was washed away shortly after midnight on Thursday morning.
Engineers from Network Rail are now working around the clock to try to repair the embankment – but it will not be reopened until Monday at the earliest.
The line is closed between Thorpe-Le-Soken and Colchester Town. A limited rail replacement bus service is in place, but passengers should allow extra time for their journeys.
Rail shuttle services are in operation between Clacton and Thorpe-Le-Soken and Walton and Thorpe Le Soken.
Commuters from the Clacton and Walton-on-the-Naze lines will be able to use parking permits for their usual station at Colchester station. Passengers are advised to check the Greater Anglia website and Twitter for the latest travel information.
There is an additional problem for Greater Anglia – it has a depot at Clacton where some trains undergo overnight maintenance. These have effectively been cut off from the rest of the network.
While most operate on the Clacton line, some do form main-line trains as well which means that some suburban trains will be shorter than normal because fewer units are available.
Meliha Duymaz, Network Rail’s route managing director for Anglia, said; “The landslip has caused extensive damage and our engineers will be working around the clock to carry out the repairs and reopen the line as soon as it is safe to do so.
“We expect the repair work to take at least two days and we will provide further updates as our work progresses. I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while the repairs are carried out.
“We will carry out an investigation into what caused the landslide and any further preventative measures we can take.”
Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said: “We’ve hired about 25 buses and coaches and will do our best to make sure customers can complete their journeys. We’re mobilising extra staff to help out at affected stations so that customers find it easy to get on the right bus and train.”
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