Monday 21 Dec 2020
Improved reliability following emergency railway works between Ely and Peterborough
- Region & Route:
- Eastern: Anglia
Network Rail have replaced 57 pairs of wheel timbers across four bridges in the vicinity of Manea, between Ely and Peterborough.
Following inspections on railway bridges with softwood timbers, 53 pairs of wheel timbers were found to require urgent replacement. These timbers have been replaced to remove the risk of further deterioration which may have led to additional speed restrictions or the closure of the line, significantly disrupting train services.
In addition to replacing four more pairs of wheel timbers than initially planned, 2000 metres of power cabling, 1800 metres of rail and track across Stonea bridge has also been replaced.
To maintain a safe and reliable railway, Network Rail are working with freight and train operating companies to agree a plan to return to Manea to replace more wheel timbers in 2021. These timbers are in better condition so can remain in replace until we return to complete the timber replacement. An update will be published when this plan has been confirmed.
Ellie Burrows, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia, said: “We’ve successfully carried out important wheel timber renewals in the Manea area to improve the reliability of the train service for passengers between Ely and Peterborough.
“Running a safe railway is my absolute priority and this work was vital to running a safe and reliable railway network for our passengers. I’d like to thank passengers for their continued patience while we carried out this work.”
Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director said: “We understand that engineering works inconvenience passengers, but they are vital for the continued safety and reliability of our railway. Our longer modern state-of-the-art new trains, combined with continued improvement work by Network Rail are together improving our passengers’ journeys.”
As part of the work in the area Network Rail, working in partnership with Taziker, installed a defibrillator in Pymoor Village. The newly installed defibrillator is known as an Automated External Defibrillator. As the name suggests, an Automated External Defibrillator provides an automatic treatment that requires no training or special expertise. Using it cannot harm the victim, but it could save their life.
Notes to Editors
Work was completed on the following dates:
Sunday 6 September
Saturday 12 – Sunday 13 September
Saturday 19 September
Saturday 26 – Sunday 27 September
Saturday 3 – Sunday 4 October
Saturday 10 – Sunday 11 October
Sunday 25 October
Saturday 31 October – Sunday 1 November
Saturday 7 – Sunday 8 November
Saturday 21 – Sunday 22 November
Saturday 28 – Sunday 29 November
Automatic External Defibrillator units will analyse the heart of the victim and only provide a shock if one is required. While it is preferable for a trained person to operate the equipment, in an emergency, anyone can use it by following the simple instructions given by the machine.
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Lauren Adams
Communications Manager
Network Rail
lauren.adams@networkrail.co.uk
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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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