Friday 3 May 2013
Burnley and Todmorden rail users urged to find out more about Holme Tunnel upgrade
- Region & Route:
Local people in Burnley and Todmorden will have the chance to find out more about the planned refurbishment of Holme Tunnel at a public information event on Saturday 11th May.
Network Rail needs to carry out a programme of work to repair and strengthen the 250m long Holme Tunnel near the village of Holme Chapel. The work will result in the closure of the railway between Burnley Manchester Road and Todmorden for 20 weeks between November 2013 and March 2014.
Over time, movement of the ground around the tunnel has led to the tunnel lining becoming severely distorted. A 20mph speed restriction is currently in place for trains running through the tunnel, but remedial work is needed to make sure trains can continue to use the tunnel in future.
As well as relining and strengthening sections of the tunnel, allowing the speed limit to be raised to 45mph, Network Rail will also be laying new track, installing improved drainage and rebuilding the severely damaged Todmorden Portal.
Rhiannon Price, scheme project manager, said: “The work planned for Holme Tunnel will speed up journeys on this part of the railway and provide a more reliable railway for local people. Anyone who wants to find out more about the work and how it may affect them is welcome to come to our information event to speak to us in person.”
Network Rail’s contractors will set up a site compound in Holme Chapel starting on Monday 20 May to allow for the enabling works, which are scheduled to run from July to November.
The main tunnel blockade will run from Saturday 9 November 2013 to Sunday 30 March 2014, during which time a replacement bus service will operate between Burnley Manchester Road and Todmorden and Burnley Manchester Road and Hebden Bridge.
For further information, please come along to our public information session from 11am-3pm on Saturday 11 May at Cliviger Village Hall, Holme Chapel, Burnley, BB10 4SU.
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
0330 854 0100
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.
Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk