Media centre

Monday 8 Jan 2007

£3 MILLION RAILWAY PROJECT SIGNALS GOOD NEWS FOR COMMUTERS

Region & Route:

| Southern

There was good news for commuters using the main London to Brighton railway line, as Network Rail announced the successful completion of a major £3 million engineering project at Earlswood in Surrey. The line was closed between the early hours of Boxing Day until 04.00am on 31 December to allow major track and signal improvements to take place. A team of engineers worked around the clock over the festive period to replace a signalling system that dated back to the early 1980s; to renew and improve around 1km of track; and completely replace Earlswood junction, a key point on a busy section of railway which links London to Brighton and the Sussex Coast via Gatwick Airport. The improvements will ensure smoother and quieter journeys for passengers, and secure the long-term future of this important stretch of railway. The project involved 15 engineering trains which were used to bring new track, ballast and sleepers to the site, one huge crane which was used to lift the new track components into place, 20 road railers and around 200 people per day working in shifts around the clock to ensure the job was completed on-time. The final stages of the project involved extensive testing of the new equipment and track before the line was handed back and re-opened to passenger services as planned for the first services of 31 December. Network Rail Route Director Fiona Taylor said: “This massive investment will enhance the performance of the railway on this busy line and bring long-term benefits to passengers in the area. It is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of all parties involved that such a huge project was completed on time, on budget and with minimal disruption to passengers. I must also pay tribute to the many dedicated workers who forfeited their Christmas break to deliver improvements for railway users on this busy main line. We appreciate that some passengers would have faced disruption to their jounreys but we hope that people understand how important it is to secure the future of this busy route.”