A 20mph speed restriction is in place on a section of the Settle-Carlisle railway following a landslip this week.

The collapse happened near Dent Head Viaduct late on Tuesday night after heavy rain.

The line was closed between Kirkby Stephen and Ribblehead, with rail replacement buses being used for that part of the journey. This section of the line reopened yesterday.

Network Rail said: “We are currently planning long-term, permanent repairs and before these are in place, a temporary speed restriction will be in use so trains can continue to safely travel through the area.

“Trains are now operating past the site with a speed restriction of 20mph imposed on both lines. A permanent solution is currently being worked on which should be implemented over the next few weeks.”

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The Dent Head Viaduct landslip comes three and a half years after a major landslip further north on the Settle-Carlisle line at Eden Brows, near Armathwaite, 10 miles south of Carlisle.

This section of line was closed in February 2016 after Network Rail’s aerial surveillance and track monitoring teams detected the ground slipping beneath the railway towards the River Eden 70 metres below.

Over the next few weeks a 100-metre section of track subsided 1.5 metres.

Buses replaced Northern train services along this stretch of line until the railway was made safe and repaired. It reopened in March 2017.

The scale of the job, coupled with the location and the fact the ground was still moving, made this the biggest repair Network Rail had ever faced.