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Tuesday 4 May 2004

ALL SYSTEMS GO ON CHERWELL VALLEY RESIGNALLING SCHEME

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At 03.09 on Tuesday 4 May, Network Rail commissioned the new signalling system controlling the Cherwell Valley route between Banbury and Leamington Spa, over-doubling the potential capacity on this key route. The commissioning marks the completion of the £35m Cherwell Valley resignalling scheme, funded by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) and Network Rail. The 20-mile line between Banbury and Leamington Spa has become an increasingly important route for passenger and freight traffic and is a geographical ‘bottleneck’ for both. The new scheme now permits a train to pass every three minutes, compared to seven minutes previously. The scheme will deliver improved timetable performance and increased capacity, which will allow for long-term passenger and freight traffic growth. It will also provide a convenient and reliable diversionary route for the West Coast Main Line. -more- Cherwell - 2 Construction work started in May 2003 and the project is the first UK resignalling scheme to introduce new LED signals throughout. Built in less than a year, the scheme has been a remarkable achievement, with much of the work having to take place on Saturday evenings, which is the only ‘no-train’ time on this route. The previous signalling also had to remain operational throughout. The resignalling scheme was delivered by Network Rail, Birse Rail and Westinghouse Rail Systems in conjunction with Carillion Rail. Commenting on the introduction of the new signalling system, Robbie Burns, Regional Director for Network Rail in the Midlands said “This project has involved a tremendous amount of teamwork with our industry partners, and goes to prove that projects of this size can be delivered to extremely challenging timescales. It will bring much needed capacity and performance benefits to this increasingly important rail corridor, which will be welcomed by all train operators and rail travellers on this route.” SRA Chairman, Richard Bowker added “This resignalling scheme allows the railway to meet long term needs of passengers and freight customers with greater capacity permitting a train to pass every three minutes, compared to seven minutes previously. Passengers will also see real improvements in the short term with better performance and punctuality. This is a clear example of the industry delivering a better railway, on time and on budget.” Alistair McWhirter, Project Manager, Westinghouse Rail Systems concluded “This has been a challenging but satisfying project as we have worked to tight deadlines, whilst also trying to minimise disruption to passengers. The success of the project is largely due to the close working relationships we have developed with Network Rail and the SRA, coupled with the dedication and expertise of our team.”