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Wednesday 30 Dec 2015

Freight lines reopen as phase one of Greater Lincolnshire railway upgrade plan is completed

Region & Route:

| Eastern

Freight lines serving the busy port of Immingham have reopened on time following five days of engineering work in Greater Lincolnshire.

The first train, a single engine, left Immingham at 05.16 this morning and travelled through the newly resignalled section of track en-route to pick up steelwork wagons.

This phase of the engineering work, which began on Christmas Eve, focussed primarily on replacing the 100-year-old signalling on the freight lines to and from the port, from which around 25 per cent of the UK’s rail freight enters the country.

Work on passenger lines in north Lincolnshire, north east Lincolnshire and others parts of the Lincolnshire region will now continue until January 11, with bus replacement services in operation on some routes until then.

Mark Tarry, route managing director for Network Rail, said: “This major upgrade of the railway has been two years in the planning with the support of the port, industry and local authorities. With the majority of the work being carried out over Christmas – a relatively quiet time on the railway – ultimately we will reduce the amount of disruption caused.

“The first phase of work is now complete but with phase two work taking place until 11 January, I urge passengers to continue to check before they travel.”

Notes to editors

Key facts about the Greater Lincolnshire Railway Investment:

• The total investment is £96.5 million
• We are upgrading 16 level crossings
• We are closing 13 signal boxes and re-signalling 60 miles of track between Scunthorpe and Cleethorpes
• We are replacing two life expired bridges – Station Road, Blyton and Cleatham Road, Kirton Lindsey
• Network Rail is assisting the Highways England in building a new road bridge under the railway as part of separate £90m project to improve access for vehicles along the A160/A180.
• We are replacing the platform at New South Holland Station
• While the railway is shut, we’re taking the opportunity to carry out structural inspections of bridges, signals, stations and track in order to reduce more disruption in the future
• As well as inspections, we’ll be carrying out physical maintenance of the network at several locations across Lincolnshire
• Doing the work over one long period at Christmas minimises the disruption caused to neighbours, passengers and businesses by 50 per cent compared to closing the railway over many consecutive weekends

Key facts about the port of Immingham:

• Around 25 per cent of the UKs rail freight (by volume) comes through Immingham
• It handles up to 55 million tonnes of freight per year, including 20 million tonnes of oil and 10 million tonnes of coal
• Freight received through Immingham helps keep the lights on at home through deliveries of coal and biomass. The delivery of aviation fuel also helps power the aeroplanes that take you on holiday.