As the ‘orange army’ entered its third week of preparing Bath’s railway line for electrification, the team has been working with an ecologist to ensure the bats living in Box Tunnel are not adversely affected by the work.

Network Rail has completed work to replace an ageing bridge over the railway in the Vale of Glamorgan with a larger and improved structure, which will help improve traffic flow.

Phil Hufton, managing director of network operations at Network Rail, said: “At the start of this year we had a number of problems that caused passengers disruption and frustration and we apologise for this.  Since then we have proactively invested over £11m to improve performance for Southern and Thameslink passengers.

Residents are invited to an event to celebrate the completion of Network Rail’s work in Dawlish to repair the damage caused by last year’s storms and make the area more resilient for the future.

Network Rail’s aim to improve safety at Ufton Nervet level crossing reached a major milestone last night after West Berkshire Council’s planning committee granted permission for the company to replace the crossing with a bridge.

Passengers will soon benefit from step-free access throughout Leyland station thanks to a £4.5m investment by the government’s Access for All (AfA) scheme.

The rail line between Kilmarnock and Dumfries is expected to remain closed until Monday, August 17, while engineers work to remove 18 derailed freight wagons and a locomotive from a site near Cumnock in Ayrshire.

Network Rail’s ‘orange army’ has entered a critical stage of its work to prepare Bath’s railway line for electrification, with work commencing to lower the tracks through Dundas Aqueduct, Bathampton Junction and Sydney Gardens.