Settle/Carlisle Railway- Emergency Closure between Appleby and Skipton

Thank you isn31c for alerting us to this issue!
We have a holiday booked in April in Settle and we’re planning on getting there and around by train. I know it’s a big ask, but do you have any idea on whether this might be a lengthy closure, or can you point me in the direction of information sources where I could keep an eye on the situation?
Thank you very much.

The incident only happened at 1pm this afternoon. Network Rail already have engineering teams on site clearing the collapse and assessing repairs needed. So at this stage we simply don't know how bad this is, but the photographs are not good. Whether a temporary quick repair can be put in place remains to be seen.

Northern Rail journey check will be updating on a regular basis- https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/service-updates

Northern Rail have an arrangement with a local company to have 4 buses on standby 24/7 so that is how buses were on site so fast

There is also a local Skipton to Settle (and on to Ingleton, Kirkby Lonsdale and Lancaster- hourly to Settle, two hourly beyond Settle towards Lancaster.

In theory trains could be extended south to Kirkby Stephen and north to Ribblehead (apparently trains can't be turned at Settle) so it's a waiting game.

Thank you very much isn31c.
I will keep an eye on the website in your link and if need be, make a decision in early April while our accommodation is still able to be cancelled. We are planning on using the local trains to explore for a week.
Will keep fingers crossed.

We have train reservations from Skipton to Carlisle on April 30 so I will be checking in on the Northern Rail updates as well.

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.

Thanks very much for the update isn31c, that is very good news. Although you make the RRB sound quite attractive - a shame you will be missing out for now.

By the way there was a further emergency line closure for repairs later that week. It isn't clear if any more work is due, but I've been down the line about two weeks ago and trains are running at line speed through the area.

I 'd expected a temporary speed restriction for a long time.

Hopefully the matter is resolved.

Thank you for continuing to update us on these issues!

There is a short notice line closure on 10 and 11 May to complete the repair work.

Trains will run as scheduled between Carlisle and Kirkby Stephen and Garsdale to Leeds with buses filling the gap between Garsdale and Kirkby Stephen.

Because the buses will not connect with the forward trains the buses will set down as required all stations Kirkby Stephen to Skipton southbound, and Garsdale to Carlisle northbound. Stations with no passengers to set down will be omitted, given that the train services are also running.

Note that the buses (if required to call all stations) will take up to 90 minutes longer towards Carlisle and up to 120 minutes longer towards Skipton, due to how the local road layout is arranged.

Passengers for Dent should call Northern Rail Control for taxis as the buses are unable to access Dent Station.

As an update- we took the train from Settle to Carlisle on April 30th. No problems with the line. It is definitely a beautiful trip. It was hard to see the viaduct from the train so another time I would figure out a way to stop at Ribblehead.

One way to see Ribblehead Viaduct is that on a Summer Sunday the Dalesbus network run out there from Hawes (connections from Skipton and Grassington) on longer routes (one of which is a route as far as Darlington, on the East Coast Main Line), then take a train north or south connecting in or out of the buses.

By the way the Station Inn at Ribblehead has very recently changed hands, and is now part of the Tan Hill Inn family of pubs (along with the Green Dragon at Hardraw).

I haven't seen the 2026 programme yet, but there should be guided walks of the site and shanty towns in season from the station.

The Visitor Centre should still have an excellent map of the site showing where everything was, allowing you to do a self guided walk.

It was hard to see the viaduct from the train

Did the guard announce it to say you were about to cross the viaduct? I've been known to miss it completely at times as you don't get a very good view from the train.

It's definitely worth trying to see the viaduct from the ground. Ribblehead Station has an exhibition and cafe which gets consistently good reviews on Trip Advisor. There is a short walk to the viaduct from there. (Be warned it can be muddy!)