£75m EASTER RAIL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME

Friday 14 Mar 2008

£75m EASTER RAIL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME - ONE WEEK TO GO

Region & Route:: National

There is just one week to go before Network Rail embarks upon its £75m Easter rail improvement programme.

With major investment taking place at locations such as Clapham Junction, London Liverpool Street and the West Coast Main Line, this intensive, but vital investment will help provide a more reliable, better performing railway for passengers and freight users.

During the four day Easter 'weekend' almost 20 miles of track will be laid, new signalling and points installed and a viaduct on the Cumbria coast replaced. Over 6,000 people will be working to improve the railway, equating to nearly 300,000 man hours worked.

Iain Coucher, Network Rail Chief Executive said: "While we know that our plans affect passengers' plans, the demands on our rail network are growing and we need to invest to deliver a better service for everyone. Our challenge is to do this invisibly - to get in, rip up the old railway, put in a new better one - and then get out on time, while causing the least amount of disruption possible."

To help inform passengers of the need to plan in advance, Network Rail is this week launching its first 'direct to passenger' media advertising campaign about the Easter work programme. Very clear and simple advertisements will appear on websites (e.g. google, streetmap, multimap, thisislondon) and in the national press advising potential rail users:

There is major engineering work this Easter
The vast majority of services remain unaffected by the work
To check trains times and services before travelling

Mr Coucher continued: "The vast majority of the railway is open for business this Easter, but our investment programme will impact services on some major routes, such as the West Coast Main Line. Passengers are strongly advised to check before travelling.

"Following the New Year, we have listened to passengers and those who represent them and now our planning and preparation is more robust than ever. Each project is an immense engineering challenge in its own right, and Network Rail is absolutely determined to deliver a safe and reliable railway back to passengers and freight users at the promised time.

"Because of the volume of work on some key routes this Easter, we're advising people to double check their travel plans. We'll be working hand-in-hand with the train operating companies and National Rail Enquiries to make sure that the very latest information is available."

Network Rail is working closely with train operators, Passenger Focus and other partners in the rail industry to get up to date information to passengers before they travel. Travel information for Easter has been available from National Rail Enquiries for several weeks.

Notes to editors

SUMMARY OF THE EASTER INVESTMENT PROGRAMME West Midlands: As part of the West Coast Main Line upgrade Network Rail is investing £350m in the Trent Valley, to help reduce journey times (e.g. London to Manchester in less than two hours) and increase the frequency of services. The work this Easter includes upgrading the track, signalling and overhead head power lines. Network Rail is also carrying out a large quantity of work in and around Rugby station. As well as laying new track and signalling, we will be replacing the current passenger subway under the station. In Nuneaton we are investing £2.4m on new points and signalling. This will help to increase train speeds through a key junction on the West Coast Main Line to 125mph. East Anglia and South East: Network Rail is upgrading the track, power lines and carrying out platform works at Milton Keynes station. As well as being a key part of upgrading the West Coast Main Line, this scheme will help to support government plans for new homes in the area. Work continues on a £25m project in Barnham, Sussex, linked to the introduction of a modern signalling system that will increase train reliability. As part of a £5m scheme in Kent, this Easter Network Rail is strengthening the Rochester River Bridge. This will reduce the long term effects of the weather and maintain the life of the structure. We are also investing £6m to modernise the track around Shenfield. The new design is less noisy and will reduce the need for maintenance closures. London: We are investing £3m over four days to renew large sections of the track at Clapham Junction. The work will improve every day performance and make the line more reliable in the future. Some overhead line replacement work is taking place on the approaches to Liverpool Street and at Bethnal Green to improve the reliability of the railway. While track work is taking place in the Shenfield area. North East, Yorkshire and Humberside: We are investing £750,000 to improve the reliability of trains on routes from Leeds to Huddersfield, York to Doncaster and Newcastle to Carlisle. North West: In partnership with Cheshire County Council, we are upgrading the Wistaston Road railway bridge in Crewe to bring it in line with EU regulations and to maintain vehicle access. Without this improvement, a permanent weight limit would be required, affecting access to the road. Network Rail is replacing the deck on the 50m Calder Viaduct that carries a railway over the River Calder/River Ehen on the Cumbrian coast. The work is important for maintaining passenger services in the future and enabling the existing speed restriction for freight trains to be lifted. South West: We are delivering the final phase of an £8.8million project in Swindon East to improve the condition of the railway and to increase line speeds. East Midlands: Work continues on a £18m station project to rebuild the canopies at Derby station. Passengers will benefit from a better station environment with improved access that is more appropriate for a modern city and the thousands of people using it every day. Wales: Engineers will be working to remodel the track at Abercynon. This project is part of a wider enhancement scheme to increase the frequency of services on the Cardiff Valleys lines. Scotland: Track renewals will be carried out between Lochwinnoch and Glengarnock on the line to Ayrshire. The work will improve the quality of the track and mean smoother journeys for passengers. We will also be undertaking track renewal Larbert in Stirlingshire. For more details on Network Rail's major Easter works visit www.networkrail.co.uk For advice on journeys and ticket information, passengers should contact National Rail Enquiries at: www.nationalrail.co.uk or on 08457 48 49 50.

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office - National
020 3356 8700
mediarelations@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

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