Monday 4 Oct 2004
COUNTDOWN TO CLOSURE: THREE WEEKS TO GO
- Region & Route:
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Southern
Essential work to replace track equipment at Willesden Junction will take place between Saturday 23 October and Sunday 31 October 2004 (inclusive). The crucial work will require the railway to be closed for nine days between Queen’s Park and Stonebridge Park. This will affect Silverlink Metro passengers travelling in and out of London Euston and London Underground passengers using the northern end of the Bakerloo line. Silverlink County and Virgin train services from Euston will not be affected.
Network Rail is investing £3.5 million into the work at Willesden Junction, on this busy commuter route into London. The nine-day closure will see several complex railway crossovers replaced, which will result in smoother, faster and more reliable journeys for passengers. Engineers will also be taking the opportunity to carry out other essential maintenance and renewals work on the line.
Robbie Burns, Network Rail Route Director, said: “This project is essential to the safe and well-performing running of this busy stretch of railway out of London Euston. Our engineers will be working around the clock to get this complex work done as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“The work schedule has been carefully planned to coincide with the autumn school holidays, when less people will be using the route. However, we do apologise to any passengers who are affected and thank them for their patience while this crucial work is carried out.”
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Network Rail has been working closely with Silverlink Metro and London Underground to ensure that alternative travel arrangements are in place for passengers travelling in and out of London. Information and amended timetables will be available at stations along the route and further information will be published on
www.silverlink-trains.com and
www.tube.tfl.gov.uk.
Alternative travel arrangements:
· No Silverlink Metro trains will run between Queen’s Park and Stonebridge Park
· No Bakerloo line trains will run between Queen’s Park and Harrow & Wealdstone
Watford
Silverlink Metro shuttle services: Stonebridge Park – Watford or
Silverlink County services to Bushey, Harrow, Wembley Central & Euston
Stonebridge Park
Replacement bus services: Queen’s Park - Stonebridge Park or
Local bus services between Queen’s Park and Harrow & Wealdstone
Queen’s Park
Silverlink Metro shuttle services: Euston – Queen’s Park or
Bakerloo line as far as Queen’s Park
Euston or
London via Bakerloo line
Some Silverlink County mainline services into and out of Euston will additionally call at Wembley Central, Harrow & Wealdstone, Bushey and Watford Junction. In addition, valid Silverlink and London Underground tickets will be accepted on local bus services between Queen’s Park and Harrow & Wealdstone. For further travel advice, please contact National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50 or London Travel Information on 020 7222 1234.
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Silverlink Metro’s Route Director, Mark Steward, commented: “Silverlink Metro is a busy line on which so many people rely, and it is important that it is maintained to a standard that enables us to run a reliable service. By giving the track to Network Rail engineers for nine days, the work can be completed more quickly than over a number of weekends. We are working with London Underground, London Buses and our colleagues in Silverlink County to provide comprehensive alternative travel arrangements during this period.”
Penny Hazell, London Underground’s General Manager of the Bakerloo line, said: “We have been working closely with Network Rail, Silverlink and Metronet to plan for this closure. Our joint aim is to provide our customers with viable alternatives. This closure will mean longer travelling times over nine days planned to coincide with half term, however I know that everyone looks forward to the benefits. This work will deliver improved reliability for everyone travelling north of Queen’s Park.”
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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