Wednesday 24 May 2006
MAJOR INVESTMENT FOR PASSENGERS OVER BANK HOLIDAY
- Region & Route:
While most of us enjoy the Bank Holiday sunshine, Network Rail engineers will be working on large scale railway improvements throughout the Midlands and along the West Coast Main Line to deliver long-term benefits to passengers. While most of us enjoy the Bank Holiday sunshine, Network Rail engineers will be working on large scale railway improvements throughout the Midlands and along the West Coast Main Line to deliver long-term benefits to passengers. Over the weekend engineers will be working on the signalling in the Coventry area while new stretches of track on the West Coast Main Line are being tested and commissioned between Watford and Northampton. As part of the project to improve the railway at Rugby, the Black Path foot bridge, near to the station will be demolished to make way for a new bridge which will be installed early next year. Work also continues on the Trent Valley Four Tracking Project which is improving the railway between Tamworth and Armitage by providing two additional tracks. Network Rail Route Director Peter Strachan said: “Large scale engineering work is essential to the future of the railway. This programme of track renewals, signalling and maintenance work will improve the running of our lines and help us and train operators provide a more reliable service to passengers. We do large scale projects of this kind over Bank Holiday weekends when fewer people travel, minimising disruption for passengers.” Network Rail has worked closely with train operators to provide alternative transport arrangements for passengers. Changes to services are as follows:
- The West Coast Main Line will be closed between Watford and Stafford and Watford and Birmingham International on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 May.
- Watford to Stafford will reopen at 10am on Monday 29 May when rail services resume between London Euston, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Stafford and the North West.
- The line between Rugby and Birmingham International will remain closed over Bank Holiday Monday and reopen at 5am on Tuesday 30 May.
- London bound passengers from the West Midlands will be able to use Chiltern services via Banbury to London Marylebone. A coach service will enable passengers from Coventry to connect to Chiltern services at Leamington.
- Passengers in Rugby will be able to travel by coach to Kettering to connect with Midland Mainline services for London St Pancras.
- Replacement bus services will be in operation between Birmingham International and Watford calling at: Coventry, Rugby, Long Buckby, Northampton and Milton Keynes.
- Work to renew track between Great Malvern and Hereford will mean buses will replace trains between Hereford and Worcester on Sunday 28 May and after 10pm in the evenings of 29 May – 1 June.
- Buses will replace trains between Hednesford and Rugeley Trent Valley on Sunday 28 May to allow a new road bridge to be constructed over the railway at Rugeley.
Notes to editors
The Black Path Bridge crosses the railway at Rugby and forms part of the public footpath, known as The Black Path, which leads from Wood Street, Rugby across the railway through Junction One Retail Park to Leicester Road. The footpath will be closed until January 2007 while engineers work to install a new bridge which will be wider, able to accommodate both a cycle path and pedestrian footpath and will benefit from having lighting along it’s the full length. Signs will be placed advising people of the closure, and alternative routes along the public highway are available. The whole programme will be carried out in co-operation with Rugby Borough Council, the planning authority, and Warwickshire County Council, the highway authority to minimise disruption to the local community. Built in the 1800s, the West Coast Main Line has developed into the UK’s busiest mixed traffic railway (responsible for 43% of Britain’s UK freight traffic) and is recognised as a leading European rail artery. Responsible for over 2,000 train movements each day, the route also caters for over 75 million passenger journeys per year The West Coast Main Line comprises some 1,660 track miles, 2,800 signals including 13 major junctions and 10,000 bridge spans The modernisation project is costing £8 billion and introduced a 125mph railway with tilting train operation by September 2004, with additional line speed improvements further north in 2005. The project is scheduled for completion 2008/2009 The West Coast strategy, published by the SRA in June 2003, provided firm objectives and guidance and provided a basis to turn around what was an uncoordinated and undeliverable programme The West Coast upgrade will cost approximately £8bn. So far about £6.5bn has been invested
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