During the winter storms of 23/24 we were asked to attend and advise of the beginnings of aland slip above the railway. The slip was still active and quickly began to move away from the base material. This cause a large step at the top of the already steep slope and steepening ground towards the toe.

Main issue:
– Protection of the railway
– Access and egress from the slip
– Removal of material and therefore weight from the slip
– Efficiency to ensure the slip did not get out of hand

With the ground under 24h surveillance from a team of geophysicists and a IRATA rope access team on site to conduct a rescue on site, the spider excavator was easily able to negotiate the step above the slope and establish itself.

The railway line was closed and a team of rail road excavators and trailers where employed to access the bottom 20% of the slip. Meanwhile the spider began to de-vegetate the affected area passing the removed material to the waiting RRVs. This was followed by the removal of the failed earth in the same manner. Overall the affected area measured 80m long by 40m wide. A total of 5000 tonnes of earth was removed.

To stabilise, following the removal of the slipped material, the ground was benched and a rock blanket was installed on top. The stone was brought up the slope from the railway due to constraints on the land above. The total volume of stone brought it was 6000 tonnes.

After completion the area was handed back to network rail and the line was quickly restored and re-opened to the public.