Swanage Railway has appointed UK civil engineering consultancy GB Card & Partners (GBCP) to oversee urgent remedial works at Harman’s Cross station on the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, to arrest active landslips that threaten the integrity of the railway line and continuity of services.

The instability affects a deep cutting at the east end of Harman’s Cross station, created during the original construction of the Swanage Railway. This historic alteration to the slope’s stability has been progressively exacerbated by water runoff from surrounding hills, historic reprofiling works carried out approximately 40 years ago, and the increasing impacts of climate change.

The landslip risk has been known for some time. In 2019, GBCP was instructed by Swanage Railway to undertake a stability assessment of the railway cutting immediately east of the up platform at Harman’s Cross.

“Historic movement of the slope has been observed for at least 15 years, evidenced by the construction of a gabion mass gravity wall around ten years ago,” explained Dr Geoff Card, Managing Director of GBCP. “Our inspection identified clear signs of ongoing instability, including ground heave at the toe of the slope in front of the gabion wall, tension cracking at the crest, and significant settlement.”

GBCP has designed a remedial solution involving the installation of sheet piling to arrest further movement and provide long-term strengthening of the railway infrastructure.

Weather extremes—including prolonged heavy rainfall and drought—are increasingly contributing to slope failures. With many UK railway routes constructed long before modern design standards, landslips are becoming more prevalent across both the mainline and heritage networks.

In 2024, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) reported that British railway failures were “closely related to poor and extreme weather, especially high rainfall.” Network Rail data shows an average of 151 earthwork failures per year between 2020–21 and 2024–25. Recent remedial works have included embankment strengthening in south-west England, including between Brockenhurst and Lymington Pier, and at Axminster.

Dr Card, a recognised expert in heritage railway infrastructure, said: “Landslips in railway cuttings and embankments are occurring throughout the UK, whether on the Network Rail main network or heritage railways. We are seeing a clear increase in projects directly linked to climate change, with high rainfall affecting groundwater levels, soil erosion, and slope stability.”

The works at Harman’s Cross are being supervised on site by Dylan Wendorf-Brown, GBCP’s Senior Geotechnical Engineer. “The key challenge has been arresting slope movement that had caused the track to move out of tolerance,” he said. “Logistics have also been demanding, with restricted access meaning all construction activities must be carried out from trackside.”

Construction works are being delivered by Sonic Rail Services under the supervision and direction of GB Card & Partners. Completion is expected by March 2026.

Photo Credits Andrew PM Wright