Media centre

Monday 8 Oct 2007

FASTER RAIL JOURNEYS INTO NEWCASTLE

Region & Route:

Rail passengers arriving at Newcastle from the south will have a swifter and smoother entrance to the city - thanks to £600,000 of track works, completed by Network Rail. The tight curve leading onto the King Edward Bridge has been subject to a 10mph speed limit for around ten years because of limited space between adjacent tracks. Using the Network Rail enhancements budget, engineers have been able to come up with a solution which means traffic can now run at 30mph in each direction. Network Rail's Route Director, Dyan Crowther, said: "The journey time improvement from this work is around one to one-and-a-half minutes per train. Although that doesn't sound like much it will allow us to make improvements to the timetable for the tracks around Newcastle Central station. It will also have an important impact on the perception of the city for visitors as trains will not be forced to slow right down as they arrive in the North East. "This is the first of several schemes planned for around the North East to ease congestion and improve performance for our customers." Track engineers began on site during the late August bank holiday and follow up works were completed over the following weeks - allowing the speed restriction to be lifted yesterday (Sunday 7 October). David Clelland, MP for Tyne Bridge, added: "As one who has suffered the frustration of trains standing on the Bridge or crawling slowly into Central Station I very much welcome this improvement to traffic movements across King Edward Bridge. I congratulate Network Rail for their work in improving the smooth operation of trains in and out of Newcastle."