Most commuters are accustomed to unusual reasons for delays to their service – from leaves on the lines to the wrong type of snow – but a “mysterious void” must rank as one of the most bizarre.

Railway engineers are trying to deal with a sinkhole that has appeared beside train tracks in northern England in the wake of Storm Eleanor.



The hole, 1.2 metres (4ft) deep and more than a half a metre wide – big enough for a child to fall in – was found in the village of Harrington on the Cumbrian coast.

Sea erosion or a collapsed drain beneath the tracks are believed to be behind what Network Rail described as a “mysterious void” – echoing other recent discoveries by archaeologists.

Train services on the Barrow-Carlisle line between Whitehaven and Workington were disrupted as Network Rail attempt to tackle the “shifting” hole.

Phil James, head of operations for Network Rail’s London North Western route, said: “Sinkholes are very unusual on the railway. We are trying to work out whether this one has been caused by a collapsed culvert or sea erosion or both. Either way, we’ve got a big hole right by the tracks that we need to fill in.”

Trains are having to run on one line along the stretch during repairs, which are expected to be concluded over the weekend.

James added: “In theory running the railway is simple. But in practice, when you throw storms, wind, waves and sinkholes into the mix, it gets more complicated.”

Network Rail has recorded 50 sinkholes on the railway in the past 12 years.

The Cumbrian sinkhole, on a stretch of track where only one or two trains an hour usually pass, should prove less disruptive than the Forest Hill sinkhole of 2016. That 4-metre deep hole opened up beneath tracks used by Southern Rail during the industrial dispute over guards on trains, closing all four tracks between London Bridge and Croydon and piling further misery on passengers on the busy commuter service.