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Thursday 13 Oct 2005

£12 MILLION NEW RAILWAY STRIKES HARMONIOUS CHORD FOR PASSENGERS

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Passengers were today reaping the benefits of a £12m project to build a new 450 metre piece of railway near Grantham – the Allington Chord – that removes a historical bottleneck on the East Coast Main Line Guests gathered today to mark the official opening of new ‘Allington Chord’ that will have a big impact on local and long distance rail travel. John Armitt, Chief Executive, Network Rail said: “Allington Chord is a prime example of the benefits that are delivered to passengers by the rail industry working in partnership.  This 450 metre twin track new piece of railway will improve performance and reliability as well as helping to increase capacity on the network.” Rail Minister Derek Twigg said: "This is an excellent example of investment in the railways.  Allington Chord provides excellent value for money: it's a relatively short length of track which makes a big difference.  This project improves both local and main line services.  It's already making life better for passengers and should bring more benefits in the future." Delivered on time and within budget, Allington Chord means greater route flexibility with good connections for local services into Grantham and long distance services.  It will also improve reliability and performance on the East Coast Main Line.  When combined with other improvements, the new track will also increase capacity on the East Coast Main Line. Until now trains between Nottingham and Skegness via Grantham had to travel on the East Coast Main Line between Grantham and Barkston South Junction, taking up space on the East Coast Main Line.  Allington Chord removes the need for them to use the East Coast Main Line, providing a dedicated route to and from Grantham station on the Nottingham branch line.