Tunnel collapse line to reopen this weekend

A busy commuter rail route is to reopen seven weeks after a tunnel collapsed next to the site of a £20m Tesco project.

The line through Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire had to be closed at the end of June after a tunnel collapsed next to the supermarket which is being built by Jackson Civil Engineering.

It will reopen on Saturday after it was declared safe by engineering experts after reconstruction work was carried out.

Since the collapse, Tesco and its contractors, including Jackson and Amersham-based subcontractor Clark Contracting, have removed more than 25,000t of earth and 60m of tunnel structure.

A review of the tunnel design, the building practices and the earth used as infill has concluded that the structure is now safe for trains.

Network Rail chief executive John Armitt said: "Now we are satisfied that the tunnel is safe, our engineers have moved in and will be working night and day, rebuilding the track and signalling damaged in the tunnel collapse, to get trains moving once again."