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Monday 13 Mar 2017

Rail reliability boost for passengers in Wimbledon, Sutton and Mitcham as £45m railway upgrade gets under way

Region & Route:

| Southern

Rail passengers in the Sutton to Wimbledon and Mitcham corridor can look forward to better, more reliable journeys as a £45m railway upgrade gets under way.

Network Rail has started work to modernise old signalling equipment in the area, which is served by Southern services to London Bridge and London Victoria as well as Thameslink services to central London, Luton and St Albans.

The work is part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan and will see state-of-the-art computer-based technology installed along the busy commuter line by 2018. Signalling – the railway’s equivalent of traffic lights – will then be controlled from the most advanced signalling centre in the UK, Network Rail’s Route Operating Centre at Three Bridges in West Sussex, helping reduce delays, increase network capacity in the long term and provide more timely and accurate information to passengers.

When complete, the project will cover 37 miles of track, upgrade five railway junctions and 70 signals, and replace over 100 track circuits - which provide information about the location of trains - with more modern and reliable technology.  These improvements will also contribute to better train punctuality by reducing infrastructure faults and the risk of train delays. Mitcham Eastfields CCTV level crossing will also be improved as part of the project.

Network Rail’s, chief operating officer, Andy Derbyshire, said: “As London’s railways get ever busier, it’s vital we continue investing in the latest technology to boost performance. 

“This project is a key part of our Railway Upgrade Plan in the south east and will mean a more reliable railway and better journeys for our passengers. I would like to thank lineside neighbours and passengers for their patience as we undertake this essential upgrade work.”

Network Rail’s, scheme project manager, Kristine Harris, said: “I would like to thank all of the team, our principal contractor Siemens and all the other contractors for their hard work and determination. We achieved our first major construction milestone at the end of February and have now moved into our new project depot meaning our teams can work much more effectively and efficiently. We have made an excellent start as we move toward commissioning in Easter 2018.”

Thameslink and Southern’s, infrastructure director Keith Jipps, of Govia Thameslink Railway, said: “We’re working closely with Network Rail to deliver major programmes of work like this, reducing delays and improving reliability.

“Inevitably the improvement work means we’ll have to suspend services occasionally at weekends but this will be well publicised along with alternative travel arrangements and the outcome will be well worthwhile.”

Work on the project will take place at night and over the weekends when the railway is at its quietest. Residents living next to these lines could experience disruption while work takes place, however Network Rail will be keeping residents informed and is committed to reducing the level of disruption as much as possible. 

In addition there will be some weekend closures of the line and passengers are encouraged check before they travel whie this work goes on.

Notes:

1. The works over the weekend of 25 and 26 February covered 25 track miles over a 52 hour possession with over 100 people on site.  More than 7,000metres of cabling was laid, six screw piles and six bases for signals installed and more than 260 tons building materials delivered for the next major phase of work over Easter 2017.
2. On 9 March, the project moved to a new base at Imperial Way, Croydon. The depot is ideally located just a few minutes’ drive from key locations in Sutton, Wimbledon and Mitcham allowing Network Rail to better manage and store deliveries such as cable, signal heads and bases. It also means that structures can be pre-constructed, saving time and leaving as much room at railway access points as possible. The new depot will also have ancillary offices meaning that construction, signalling and testing teams can work really closely together.