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Wednesday 22 Sep 2004

£9 MILLION REFURBISHMENT OF HEALEY MILLS SIGNAL BOX

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Date:                                      Friday 1 October 2004 Time:                                     12.30pm Venue:                                   Healey Mills Signal Box, Healey New Mills,                                                                         Ossett, West Yorkshire, WF5 8NF Contact:                                Carolyn Watson, Network Rail, 01904 522825 You are invited to join Bill O’Brien MP, the Mayor of Wakefield, Councillor Janet Holmes, and representatives from Network Rail on a tour of Healey Mills signal box to celebrate its £9 million refurbishment. Graham Botham, Route Director, Network Rail said: “The multi-million pound refurbishment undertaken last year has breathed new life into the signalling operation Healey Mills, making it one of the most modern signal boxes in the country and helping to ensure Network Rail continues to deliver solid performance and reliability in the North East.” Originally commissioned in 1963, Healey Mills took over the work formerly done in seven separate manually-operated signal boxes.  The box was carefully sited next to a marshalling yard, which was a vital link between the industrial West Riding with the East Coast ports of Hull and Goole, and the industrial areas of Lancashire and the Mersey ports. Although there was a significant reduction in freight traffic using the yard in the 70s and 80s, Healey Mills signal box continues to play a strategic role and today controls the movement of 20 trains per hour including trans-pennine express, local commuter services and freight trains. -more- Healey Mills - 2 The £9 million refurbishment included: ·        A new panel and signal relay interlocking at Healey Mills ·        A new interlocking at Thornhill ·        Relocating the Time Division Multiplex (TDM) system to a new relay room location within the box ·        A new telephone concentrator system and complete refurbishment of the cable route works along the routes controlled from Healey Mills ·        Refurbishment of the building at Healey Mills