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Tuesday 29 Nov 2005

£9.5 MILLION CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR NEW STREET STATION

Region & Route:

Birmingham New Street station is to get a special Christmas gift this year - £9.5 million worth of shiny new track. Network Rail will begin nine days of essential engineering work on Christmas Day. The existing 40-year-old track was replaced to completely renew the railway on platforms 7a to 12 at the east side of the station. While the nation tucks into its Christmas dinner, hundreds of Network Rail engineers and track workers will be working hard to ensure it’s business as usual for the return to work on 3 January. Peter Strachan, Route Director for Network Rail, said “A great deal of forward planning has gone into this renewal programme, building on the success of part one of this project undertaken last year. We’ve been working closely with our industry colleagues to provide as normal a service as possible for passengers using the station over the festive period”. “Christmas is traditionally a quieter time for the railway with fewer passengers travelling. This major investment will make the track more reliable, providing a better service for passengers who use New Street station”. Apart from Christmas Day and Boxing Day, the station will remain open while work is carried out. Where train services are affected, Central Trains will run bus replacements for local services, and services to London will have slightly extended journey times. Network Rail engineers will finish work on a new stretch of track at Birmingham International, which will come into service on December 27. Once complete, this will increase capacity between Birmingham and Coventry and allow for a more reliable service for passengers who use this route. As a result, the line between Birmingham and Coventry will be closed on Christmas Eve. Virgin and Central trains will operate replacement bus services. Passengers travelling over the Christmas period are advised to allow plenty of time for their journeys and check before travelling with National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50. Details of alternative travel arrangements will also be made available at local stations across the region.