Large landslip causes severe disruption to rail travellers heading into London Waterloo from North Hampshire

Part of the railway track into London Waterloo from North Hampshire has been left hanging in mid-air after a large landslip.

It means passengers using the line between Basingstoke and London are being advised to find an alternative route this morning (Monday).

Network Rail said the landslip – on an embankment just outside Hook station – has left one of the tracks of the main line hanging in mid-air and one other track damaged.

It added that this has left “only two tracks of the four-track railway passable by trains, with both tracks designed to be used by London-bound trains only”.

“The clear guidance for [today] is to not travel from south or west of Basingstoke towards London, or from London towards the south or west of Basingstoke”, Network Rail added.

Click below to see Network Rail's video from the scene of the landslip.

Network Rail Wessex route director Mark Killick said: “This is a huge landslip and will have a massive effect on customers. The main line to Basingstoke is the spine of our railway and there will be knock-on impacts across the route.

“I can only apologise for the scale of the disruption and please ask that customers check before they travel this week, not just on the affected section, but all the way up the line to London Waterloo, where many of the trains that would use this section of railway start and finish their journeys.

“We’re still assessing the damage and it’s difficult to put a detailed timescale in place, but we know it’s going to be at least a week.

“We will need to stabilise the embankment, essentially stopping it moving, and then rebuild the railway where it has slid away. We’ll keep everyone informed of our progress and I can only say thank you to everyone for their patience and apologise again for the disruption. Please look out for further updates from South Western Railway on the revised timetable, once this has been able to be confirmed.”

The landslip happened on a 44m section of a 10m high embankment.

South Western Railways said disruption in the area was expected until the end of the day on January 22.

"Passengers are also advised against all but essential travel over the coming days on services which would usually pass through the area, on the South West Main Line," the rail operator added. "This includes services between London and Basingstoke, Bournemouth, Southampton, Weymouth, Salisbury, and Exeter.

"We are very sorry for the disruption this will cause to people’s journeys."

More details of timescales for fixing the issue and a timetable for trains until the work is completed is expected to be released soon.