Media centre

Tuesday 7 Apr 2015

Better rail journeys for thousands of passengers each year after major improvement work on the Western route is completed on time

Region & Route:

| Southern

Network Rail’s major improvement work over the Easter weekend was completed on time today, Tuesday 7 April, enabling passengers who travel on the Western route to London Paddington from the west, south west and Thames Valley to benefit from faster journeys, greater reliability and a better travelling experience.

At Reading new freight lines were installed that will completely separate passenger and freight services for the first time, removing the delays that were previously experienced when some passenger services had to wait for slower freight trains to pass through before commencing their journeys.

This stunning time-lapse photography shows the scale of the work involved in installing the new lines that will enable all those travelling on this route to benefit from smoother, faster journeys into and through Reading station.

In addition to the extensive work at Reading, Network Rail’s re-signalling project at Slough also ran to schedule. This project involved replacing ageing signalling equipment with new, ‘state of the art’ technology to improve reliability and punctuality for passengers.

Patrick Hallgate, Network Rail’s managing director for the Western route, said: “These were ambitious projects to complete over the Easter weekend and are important milestones in our Easter package of improvement work, the biggest package of improvement work carried out on the Western route to date.

“These vital pieces of work pave the way for fewer delays and smoother journeys for passengers."

Network Rail’s Easter package of improvement work continues this week with the installation of new track and signalling equipment on the relief lines between Didcot and Reading.

Patrick continued: “We still have a significant amount of work to complete in the Thames Valley, which is why I would urge anyone travelling over the next week to check before they travel.

“We fully understand the frustration this can cause, but ask the public to please bear with us through this planned period of disruption, when we will be modernising and significantly improving this part of the rail network to ensure it is fit to meet the future demands that will be placed upon it.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

Further travel information can be found by visiting National Rail Enquiries’ website www.nationalrail.co.uk. Alternatively, train operator First Great Western also has up-to-date travel advice on their website www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk.