The Wessex Route is one of the busiest and most congested routes on the rail network. With 1,300 miles of track and over 200 stations, it includes the major commuter area of south west London as well as providing long distance services from Waterloo to the south and south-west of England, including all or part of the counties of Surrey, Berkshire, Hampshire, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire.
Wessex contains some of the most densely trafficked railway lines in the country and is vital in supporting long distance traffic to and from other regions on its main lines. Significant urban areas on the route include Aldershot, Bournemouth, Southampton, Portsmouth, Guildford, Woking and Basingstoke. The network carries passenger services and significant volumes of freight traffic, linking Southampton Port and Airport with the Midlands and North of England, and is used by a number of operating companies.
Seventy of the most experienced engineering firms operating in the UK have been invited to put forward their best ideas to deliver the £425m Reading remodelling scheme. Network Rail, who is managing the Department of Transport-backed scheme, will award 25 individual work packages with values ranging between around £1m and £80m.
The scheme to double the number of train services on the Falmouth branch line has entered a vital stage. The additional 400 metres-long track, which is a key element to help deliver two trains per hour at peak period, will be installed during a massive programme of work on 13 – 17 October and 20 -24 October.
It may have been standing for over a century, but thanks to a new method of bridge replacement, the Pill Bridge, in Avonmouth was replaced by Network Rail in just eight hours. This technique, being piloted in the West Country for the first time, forms part of Network Rail’s ambitions to complete engineering work in less time.
Smoother and more reliable train journeys in Devon and Cornwall is the goal of vital annual planned rail improvement work to be carried out by Network Rail. Starting next week, essential track maintenance and renewals will begin on West Country branch lines.
More than a thousand people saw the future of the railway at Reading as they joined Network Rail at its roadshow, which unveiled plans to provide a better station and more trains for passengers.