Tuesday 20 Jun 2017
Blackpool residents invited to find out more about upgrades to Blackpool North station
- Region & Route:
- | North West & Central
Residents in Blackpool are invited to a drop-in event to find out more about improvements to Blackpool North station and train depot.
The upgrade and electrification of the railway between Blackpool and Preston - part of the Great North Rail Project - means the layout of the track and the platforms at Blackpool North will be simplified to improve reliability and help provide a better train service.
The number of platforms will be reduced from eight to six which, along with the simpler track layout, will allow trains to enter and exit the station more efficiently to deliver more reliable journeys from May 2018.
Work at Blackpool North’s train depot is needed to accommodate greener and quieter electric trains. It includes changing the track layout, installing new electrical overhead line equipment and building a new train washing facility.
Noel Connolly, head of programme management for Network Rail, said: “This work forms part of our Railway Upgrade Plan and will deliver better, greener and more efficient services for passengers in the north of England.
"I’d like to thank local residents and passengers for their patience while we carry this out. We will take all possible measures to keep disruption to an absolute minimum.”
The drop in will take place between 2pm and 6pm on Tuesday 27 June at Blackpool North station, Talbot Road, Blackpool, FY1 2AB.
It forms part of a number of drop-in events along the route where local residents can speak to Network Rail staff who will be on hand to answer questions and provide more detail on the work being carried out.
For safety reasons some of this work has to be carried out at night when trains aren’t running which includes piling work to install foundations and the steel masts which will carry electric wires to power greener and quieter electric trains.
To find out more about this work please visit our website at www.networkrail.co.uk/blackpool. Any residents who cannot make the drop can call our national helpline on 03457 11 41 41.
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 - North West & Central Region
07740 782954
NWCmediarelations@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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