Overnight Network Rail have "done a Shap"- that is to say worked like trojans to clear the line of debris/make the area safe and re-opened the line to traffic. There is a Temporary Speed Restriction through the site, but there is recovery time built into the schedule at various locations, so the effect should be minimal.
The reference to Shap is to the Avanti derailment in December- the expectation was that the line would be closed for weeks, but was re-opened in around 20 hours with a temporary fix, after scores of engineers worked in foul weather, at a remote location mainly overnight.
Like Shap planned engineering/line closure(s) will be needed in due course to make a permanent repair but for now the line is open.
It's a bit of a shame for me- I have an upcoming trip to make from West Cumbria to Selby Abbey (near York), on a Northern Rail free ticket. It is awaiting better weather because I need to make a stop off at Steeton for a technical condition assessment on their war memorial. If the line had remained closed that was going to be done today or tomorrow regardless of weather, because the epic bus ride from Appleby to Skipton is one of the few RRB's in Northern England I haven't managed to do over the years, but want to. Scenically it has to be one of the great bus journeys (if a long one)- one you would never ever do by car as no-one (even me) would choose to drive station to station through the Dales, no matter how scenic.
A few years ago we had a 13 month closure between Carlisle and Appleby after a landslide. For the same reason I enjoyed the frequent RRB all stations rides through the Eden Valley- again because of the scenery, but it is a route no one would ever drive. I took the all stations RRB instead of the express, because who wants to see the boring A66/M6. I can get that anytime.
