On January 31 what Network Rail terms 'an extremely significant landslip' at Harbury cutting between Leamington Spa and Ban-bury resulted in closure of both tracks. The landslip also affected the entrance to Harbury Tunnel at one end of the cutting. While the tracks remained in place, monitoring showed continuing movement of the slip towards them and, as RBI went to press, the expectation was that the line between Leamington and Banbury would remain closed for 'several weeks'. The operational importance of this route resulted in NR activating its Strategy Management Crisis Team under outgoing Director, Network Operations, Robin Gisby. With the general election now less than 100 days away, NR insiders report intense political pressure to reopen the route.
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