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Saturday 11 Dec 2004

£4M INVESTMENT FOR BROCKENHURST TO LYMINGTON PIER LINE WILL BRING LONG TERM BENEFITS FOR PASSENGERS

Region & Route:

| Southern: Wessex

| Southern

Network Rail will be carrying out essential track improvement work on the railway between Brockenhurst and Lymington Pier.  The programme of work will require the temporary closure of the line between these stations from 2215 hrs on Sunday 4 January to 0600 hrs on Monday 2 February 2004. Network Rail is working closely with South West Trains to limit disruption and keep local residents and passengers fully informed during this period. South West Trains will provide replacement buses for passengers wishing to travel. The work has been specifically programmed to avoid the busy tourist season when many visitors use this single-track branch line to travel to the New Forest and the Isle of Wight Ferry service. The work requires Lymington level crossing to be temporarily closed to road users from 2200 hrs on Sunday 18 January to 0600 hrs on Monday 19 January and 2200 hrs on 19 January to 0600 hrs on 20 January. The closure has been scheduled at night to limit the inconvenience caused to the local community. Transco will be taking the opportunity to carry out gas pipeline repairs locally closure whilst the railway line and level crossing are closed. Work will be carried out to renew over 4.7 miles of life expired track. Continuously welded rail with concrete sleepers will replace jointed rail on wooden sleepers, using a total of 20,000 tones of ballast, 11,250 sleepers and 16,500 yards or rail.  If placed end to the end the sleepers would span a distance over three times the height of Mount Everest.  Passengers can expect a smoother, quieter and more reliable journey as a result of the upgrade. - more - Brockenhurst– 1 Network Rail takes its environmental responsibilities seriously and are liaising with the local authority, the Environment Agency and English Nature prior to the start of the work. The contractors will be working to strict guidelines to ensure that disturbance to the local environment is minimal. Network Rail will also take the opportunity to undertake additional enhancement work including the repair of a culvert and badger passes. Robin Gisby, Regional Director, Network Rail said, “This work forms part of Network Rail’s commitment to rebuild Britain’s railway. We appreciate that passengers using the line expect an improved service and this investment is a step to delivering the service they rightly deserve.  We will try our best to keep disruption to a minimum while the work is going on, but feel sure passengers will understand that the short term inconvenience will guarantee a more reliable train service in the future.”