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Monday 24 Oct 2005

£11 MILLION TO UPGRADE THE REGION’S RAILWAY

Region & Route:

| Southern

Rail passengers in the East of England are set to benefit from an £11m programme of track replacement, timed to coincide with the school half term when fewer people travel by train. The project, which started late on Friday night (21 October), will install 3.5 miles of new track on the main line from London to Cambridge and 4.5 miles of new track on the cross country route between Norwich and Ely.  The investment by Network Rail is vital to ensure the future reliability of these busy train routes and to improve train performance for passengers.  Jon Wiseman, Network Rail Route Director said: “This major track upgrade project comes at the end of a mammoth year of investment in the region’s railway, which is already showing signs of improving train performance.  By replacing large stretches of track that are over 40 years old, we are reducing the likelihood of future faults which in turn will drive down delays.” The track improvement work at both locations will continue until the early hours of Monday morning (31 October), with engineers working around the clock to complete the job as quickly as possible.  Passengers will be able to make use of alternative bus services operating between Cambridge and Bishop’s Stortford and between Norwich and Thetford.  Trains north of Cambridge and south of Bishop’s Stortford (including services to Stansted airport) are not affected.  Passengers travelling from Cambridge and beyond can also make use of the alternative train route into London King’s Cross, which is running as normal. Passengers are advised to allow extra time to travel.  Further details are available from stations or for travel advice please contact National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50.