Friday 9 May 2014
Line closure to allow essential drainage improvement work to take place
- Region & Route:
The line between Crewe and Chester will be closed next week to allow Network Rail to carry out essential drainage improvement work.
The tracks on either side of the Christleton Tunnel, on the outskirts of Chester, regularly flood during wet weather causing delays to services and disruption to passengers.
Between Monday 12 May and Saturday 17 May, Network Rail will be upgrading drainage in the area to prevent future flooding and improve the reliability of the railway.
To complete the work, the line will be closed to all trains between Crewe and Chester, affecting Arriva Trains Wales and Virgin Trains services.
Ian Joslin, area director for Network Rail, said: “The work in the Christleton Tunnel area will significantly improve performance on this section of line, resulting in fewer delays and a more reliable railway for passengers in the future.
“Unfortunately because of the scale of the work, there will be disruption to journeys though the area between 12 and 17 May while we carry out the improvements.
“We have worked closely with Arriva Trains Wales and Virgin Trains to minimise disruption as much as possible and I apologise for any inconvenience this essential work may cause.”
Sarah Jones, customer experience manager at Virgin Trains said: “We’re sorry for any disruption this engineering work causes our passengers and are co-ordinating with Network Rail to keep the inconvenience to a minimum. The work is part of an improvement programme which will make journeys between Crewe and Chester smoother in the future and we hope our customers will understand the reasons behind the disruption.”
A spokesman for ATW said: “There will be no Arriva Trains Wales train services running between Chester and Crewe during this work but tickets will be valid on connecting Virgin Train services between these stations or a rail replacement bus service will be available. We are advising passengers to check their journey plans before they travel and to allow extra time for their journey.”
During wet weather temporary pumps have been required to remove excess water and keep the railway open and temporary speed restrictions have been necessary to keep trains moving safely, causing delays to passengers’ journeys.
Once complete, the new drainage will remove the need for these measures, providing a safer and more reliable railway between Chester and Crewe.
Passengers are advised to check www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest information before travelling.
Notes to editors
Arriva Trains Wales passengers:
There will be no Arriva Trains Wales services running between Chester and Crewe, however tickets are valid on connecting Virgin Trains services between these stations (via a diverted route). Where no connecting Virgin Trains service is available, a rail replacement coach will be provided. Both the diverted route and the rail replacement coach will take longer than normal. Arriva Trains Wales services that normally run between Holyhead and Crewe will start and terminate at Chester with departure times the same as the normal published timetable.
Virgin Trains passengers:
Services starting from Holyhead or Chester will depart earlier than booked and be diverted via Middlewich and Sandbach, departing from Crewe at the booked time. Services from London Euston will run as booked to Crewe, then be diverted via Sandbach and Middlewich, running later from Chester. The 2010 London Euston to Chester service will terminate at Crewe for a rail replacement coach. The 0700 Wrexham to Chester and 0710 London Euston to Chester services will be cancelled.
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
0330 854 0100
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