Wednesday 25 Aug 2004
BANK HOLIDAY WORK
- Region & Route:
Network Rail is preparing for the last major engineering work before the introduction of the new West Coast timetable in September.
With over 300 miles now available to the new tilting trains, engineers are focusing on the August Bank Holiday to help complete essential track and signalling work before the launch of the 125mph railway next month, providing a safer, faster and more reliable railway with improved journey times.
From Saturday 28 August to Sunday 5 September, engineering teams will be working around the clock between Hemel Hempstead and Lichfield and Manchester Piccadilly to Stockport, completing work that includes:
· The commissioning of a new signalling system between Rugby and Milton Keynes
· The removal of level crossings on the line between Birmingham International and Coventry at Berkswell, Tile Hill and Canley
· The remodelling of Nuneaton north end junction
· Bridgework at Bourne End, Berkhamsted, Cheddington, Castlethorpe and Hanslope, all at the southern end of the West Coast Main Line
· Improvement work at Northchurch (near Berkhamsted) and Kilsby (near Rugby) tunnels
· The renewal of switches and crossings at Stechford near Birmingham International
-more-
Bank Holiday - 2
During the August Bank Holiday work, trains will be diverted or replaced by coach/bus services, with long distance passengers advised to use the alternative Midland Mainline service from Manchester Piccadilly to London St Pancras, whilst West Midlands passengers can use Chiltern Railways services from Birmingham Snow Hill to London Marylebone.
Trains generally will not operate or call at Lichfield, Rugby, Northampton, Milton Keynes, Hemel Hempstead; between Birmingham New Street and Rugby; between Coventry and Leamington Spa; between Manchester Piccadilly and Stockport. From stations south of Birmingham, customers travelling to Birmingham New Street will use a coach replacement service. A coach service will operate between Milton Keynes – Rugby – Nuneaton – Tamworth - Lichfield Trent Valley and Stafford, between Northampton and Hemel Hempstead, between Coventry – Leamington Spa and for all local station services between these points. Customers are advised to check their journey details before travelling as service patterns do vary over this period.
In addition, track and signalling renewal work continues between Stockport and Manchester, with engineers replacing track, foundations and signalling equipment, including the upgrade of the five existing signal boxes in Stockport (Edgeley 1 and 2, Stockport 1 and 2 and Heaton Norris), some of which date back to Victorian times. During this period, the line is closed through Stockport until 5 September, with a combination of train diversions and bus/coach replacement services ensuring that people can continue to travel.
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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