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Wednesday 25 Jan 2023

Improving journeys with reliability-boosting track upgrade in Scarborough this month

Region & Route:

Eastern

| Eastern: North & East

Almost three miles of railway tracks are set to be upgraded this month in a £3.2million investment to bring smoother, on-time journeys for passengers travelling through Scarborough.

Over four days, Network Rail engineers will remove the rails and wooden sleepers between Willerby Carr and Seamer, which haven’t had any major work for around 50 years, and replace them with resilient steel sleepers and new rails.

Improving the track means that passengers can enjoy smoother, more reliable journeys, and it’ll also reduce the need for further maintenance work in the future.

While this work is being done, Network Rail teams will take the opportunity to renew vital signalling equipment – the traffic lights of the railway – around Seamer. By packing in as much work as possible over the four day period, Network Rail can make the best use of time and minimise disruption for passengers.

From Tuesday 31 January until Saturday 4 February, buses will replace trains between Malton and Scarborough, so journeys are likely to take longer than usual. Planned industrial action will also impact services on 1 and 3 February.

Passengers should plan ahead and check before they travel via National Rail or their train operator’s website.

Jason Hamilton, Works Delivery Programme Director for Network Rail said: “This is an essential upgrade to breathe new life into these decades-old tracks and deliver better, more reliable journeys for those travelling through.

“We’re combining projects and working over four days, rather than across multiple weekends, to minimise disruption for passengers. There will be changes to services during this time so please check before you travel.”

Chris Nutton, Major Projects Director for TransPennine Express said: “The modernisation of these tracks will make a big difference to our customers and provide more reliable journeys and ensure the long-term resilience of the route.

“I’d like to thank our customers in advance for their patience during the work and urge them to check before they travel to understand the options for their journey.”

ENDS