Network Rail has completed essential upgrades to the railway between Euston, the Midlands, North West and Cumbria over the late May bank holiday.
Between Saturday 29 and Monday 31 May, teams carried out vital work on the railway to improve passenger and freight services on the West Coast main line – the Backbone of Britain.
The £14.5m improvement projects in Network Rail’s North West and Central region as part of Britain’s Railway Upgrade Plan saw:
- Railway track replacement at Worcester, Halton in Cheshire, Harrow and Wealdstone and Cheddington in Buckinghamshire
- Signalling upgrades at Trafford Park in Manchester
- Track foundation stone upgrades in Crewe and Carlisle
Tim Shoveller, managing director for Network Rail’s North West & Central region, said: “I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we carried out these essential upgrades to the West Coast main line and routes which feed into it over the late May bank holiday.
“I’m immensely proud of the hundreds of Network Rail staff and our contractors who continue to make the West Coast main line more reliable for our passengers and pave the way for HS2, which will bring much-needed extra railway capacity as the country builds back better from the pandemic.”
Network Rail has also completed essential track works over the Bank Holiday weekend on the Great Eastern Main Line to reduce the number of delays and cancellations between Norwich and London.
Track renewal works have been completed at the northern end of the Great Eastern Main Line as part of ongoing works to keep services running safely and reliably.
Track maintenance works were also completed between Hackney Downs and Cheshunt in west Anglia.
Track gets worn from constant use by trains every day, even more so on busy main lines. Engineers carry out inspections and repairs but eventually the tracks need to be replaced to avoid faults that cause delays and cancellations.
The work was part of a programme of track renewal that is taking place in the region and continues at weekends in June.
Work also took place for the Soham station development with the installation of coping stones which form the platform edge. The new station is expected to open for passengers at the end of the year, served by Greater Anglia’s Ipswich-Peterborough service.
Ellie Burrows, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia, said: “We’ve completed works as part of our track renewals programme over the Bank Holiday weekend to improve reliability across the region.
“Our programme continues at weekends in June and passengers are advised to check how their journey might be affected before they travel. I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while this work takes place.”
Photo credit: Network Rail
