Media centre

Thursday 31 Aug 2023

Further upgrades to Bakerloo line and London Overground complete

Region & Route:

North West & Central: West Coast Mainline South

| North West & Central

Passengers are now benefiting from major improvements to the Bakerloo line and London Overground which will provide more reliable journeys between London Euston and Watford Junction in the future. 

Engineers worked between Sunday 23 July and Friday 25 August to overhaul track, signalling and power supplies for electric trains on a 20-mile stretch of railway and upgrade six stations in north London. 

The track work will bring improved journey reliability while the essential weather proofing and tactile paving at the stations will make travelling safer for passengers. 

The railway reopened for passengers on Saturday 26 August after a five-week closure which saw Network Rail and Transport for London (TfL) work together to carry out the large-scale improvement projects, supported by using London Underground equipment, trains, drivers and resources. 

Impressive time-lapse video captured by Network Rail’s contractor Murphy shows some of the improvement work delivered during the 33 day closure of the railway.

The £29 million investment this summer included: 

• Installing 18,000 modern concrete sleepers in place of wooden ones dating back to the 1950s
• Upgrading 1km of railway drainage between Harlesden and Stonebridge Park to prevent future flooding
• Replacing 48km of cabling for signals – traffic lights for trains
• Improvements to six stations including Watford High Street
• Station upgrades included platform resurfacing and roof canopy maintenance
• Upgrading the power supply for London Underground and London Overground trains 

Harlesden, Kensal Green, Watford High Street, South Kenton, Headstone Lane and North Wembley stations saw a combination of platform resurfacing, canopy renovations, tidying up plants and trees and the installation of tactile paving to improve safety for blind and partially sighted people.  

The phased railway closure meant construction teams could carry out multiple complex projects at once which would otherwise have taken years of weekend closures and overnight working. 

The latest upgrades follow similar work which took place in December 2022 and February 2023.  

James Dean, Network Rail’s West Coast South route director, said: “Thanks again to passengers for their patience while we closed the railway so we could carry out these essential projects and improve future journeys between London Euston and Watford Junction.

“It enabled us to update sections of track with new equipment which is much more reliable so people can travel in confidence. We were also able to safely deliver work at six stations during this closure - which although may not be visually obvious to passengers from platform level - was important to protect the structures from bad weather.” 

Rory O’Neill, TfL’s general manager for London Overground, said: “We would like to thank customers again for their continued patience while Network Rail and TfL made these vital infrastructure improvements designed to increase train reliability and customer comfort.  Our goal is always to provide our customers with the safest and most reliable service possible, and these major improvements will help to ensure we can do just that.” 

Now complete, these improvements will help tackle flooding and reduce the number of power and signal failures which often lead to train cancellations, helping provide confidence for passengers using London Overground and Bakerloo line services in future. 

To learn more about how Network Rail maintains and upgrades the railway you can visit www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/looking-after-the-railway/  

Passengers are reminded they can always plan their journeys by visiting www.nationalrail.co.uk