Electric trains to run on Walsall-Rugeley line from May after successful railway upgrade: Walsall-Rugeley Electrification:  Completed overhead line steel work and cables

Thursday 20 Dec 2018

Electric trains to run on Walsall-Rugeley line from May after successful railway upgrade

Region & Route:

Testing and commissioning for the Walsall-Rugeley railway electrification scheme was completed last night.

This paves the way for quieter, faster new electric services for West Midlands Railway customers on the Chase Line from May 2019.

Martin Tiller, Network Rail project sponsor, said: “This railway upgrade will bring lasting benefits for customers.”

The scheme, which has cost more than £100m, involved erecting overhead wires on 51km of track and completely reconstructing six road bridges.

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.

Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk