Media centre

Friday 17 Jun 2005

£3.5 MILLION ‘MOT’ FOR NORTH LONDON LINE

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

| Southern

From August this year, passengers using the North London Line between Gospel Oak and Barking will benefit from a huge programme of investment, which will see over two miles of new track installed to improve the performance and reliability of this important train route. The vital project will be carried out continuously over a 16 day period.  It has been timed to coincide with the school summer holidays when less people travel, in order to minimise the impact on passengers.  During this period, buses will replace Silverlink Metro trains between Blackhorse Road and Leytonstone High Road.   Jon Wiseman, Network Rail Route Director, said: “This section of railway is over 40 years old and runs over several Victorian bridges, making it vulnerable to track and drainage problems.  The planned track renewals are essential to improve the reliability of the route, enabling us to remove temporary speed restrictions and provide a better train performance for passengers.” The stretch of track in question passes over a viaduct and around 40 smaller structures.  This will present the project team with a challenging working environment and a demanding work schedule.  Track renewals staff and contractors will work around the clock to complete the programme within 16 days, in an effort to minimise disruption to passengers. Lineside neighbours in the vicinity of the planned work will shortly be contacted with project details and timings.  Further information will be circulated prior to the start of work and will be available in different languages on request.  A 24 hour helpline will also be available.  Further travel advice will be available nearer the time on the Silverlink website (www.silverlink-trains.com) or from National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50.