RAIL users are being invited to a drop-in event today to learn how Network Rail is to repair a land slip which has forced the closure of a section of the famous Settle to Carlisle line.

It was closed on February 9 after engineers detected a 130-metre-by-70-metre section of the Eden gorge embankment, below the railway and above the River Eden at Eden, was giving way.

Passengers have been able to travel from Leeds as far as Appleby where they must board buses for the final leg into Carlisle.

The public has a chance today to ask questions and find out more about the project from the Network Rail and Northern Rail task force between 4.30pm and 7.00pm at Appleby station waiting room.

Also today and tomorrow (Friday March 4) rail engineers and members of the Friends of Settle Carlisle Line group will spend two-days in a walk-about in the communities including Appleby, Lazonby, Kirkoswald, Armathwaite and Langwathby.

The repairs at Eden Brows, near Armathwaite, Cumbria, will involve building a structure underneath the affected section of railway to support it.

The project, undertaken by an 80-strong team, is expected to take many months and involve major earthworks to stabilise the embankment.

Rhiannon Price, Network Rail’s project manager for the Eden Brows repairs, said: “We are acutely mindful of the impact on communities served by this line, including businesses reliant on tourist trade. We are working to fix this slip as quickly as possible.”

Alex Hynes, managing director for Northern Rail, said: “It’s clear from the extent of the repair needed at Eden Brows that this landslip is indeed an exceptional incident."

Richard Morris, chairman of the Friends of the Settle Carlisle Line, said: "This is an enormous job and we do appreciate what is being done - and how long it is likely to take.

“Our volunteers will be working with Northern Rail to ensure passengers can still enjoy the spectacular section of line from Leeds as far as Appleby which is very much open for 'business as usual' as the tourist season approaches."