Media centre

Thursday 30 Aug 2018

Huge railway upgrade continues as majority of services return to Derby station on Monday

Region & Route:

| Eastern

The biggest investment into the railway in Derby since the Victorian era has now reached the half way mark as Network Rail continues work on the 79 day project to upgrade the track and signalling at Derby station.

The latest phase in the £200million investment sees the return to the station on Monday, 3 September of all CrossCountry services. Since Sunday, 22 July bus replacement services have been in operation between Derby and Burton on Trent, Chesterfield and Long Eaton but as of Monday, 3 September passengers will be able to catch CrossCountry trains to and from Derby. East Midlands Trains to and from Nottingham and Crewe will also be able to run to and from Derby again.

A bus replacement service is in operation between Derby and Matlock. A temporary train timetable also remains in place for journeys between Derby and Chesterfield and between Derby and London. Services between Birmingham and the North East / Scotland will have extended journey times of up to 30 minutes. Customers can continue to check derby2018.co.uk to plan their journey or download a timetable.

 

As can be seen in the latest time-lapse footage significant progress has been made at the station with over 6km of new track being laid, a new simplified track layout being introduced, along with new signalling and platforms being rebuilt to realign with the new layout.   Once completed, passengers will benefit from reduced delays, providing better journeys for the four million passengers who use the station every year.

Extra staff have been on hand at Derby, Long Eaton, Burton-on-Trent and Uttoxeter to help as well as providing free treats for those using the replacement bus services. Discounted fares and compensation is also available for selected routes and dates.

Network Rail Senior Sponsor, Kevin Newman explained: “Work at Derby is on schedule. The simplified layout and new tracks will allow train services to move more easily into the station. This will provide better and more punctual journeys for customers.

“We have now reached the half way mark and the return of services is a major milestone. We appreciate that customers have had considerable disruption to their journeys and thank them for their patience whilst we undertake this major investment which will bring a more efficient, reliable and modern network to meet the needs of passengers in the coming years."

Andy Cooper, Managing Director CrossCountry, said: “We would like to thank our customers for bearing with us while the work at Derby continues. We know the last few weeks will have been difficult for everyone travelling to and from Derby, so hopefully the return of our direct trains and the sight of all the work achieved so far will help them see the brighter future for this station.”

Jake Kelly, Managing Director, East Midlands Trains, said: “We are looking forward to reintroducing our Crewe and Nottingham services back into Derby station on Monday. We are also very grateful for the patience and understanding of our customers who have been using the replacement bus services in recent weeks.

“However, there will still be temporary timetables and bus replacements in place for other services until Sunday, 7 October and we would ask customers to bear with us for a little longer until these improvements are completed.”

The work at Derby will finish in the early hours of Monday, 8 October. At this point, the full timetable which was introduced in May 2018 will be back in place.

Prior to the return of services on Monday, 3 September, Network Rail needs to undertake testing of the new track. This means that there will be no services running in or out of Derby station on Sunday, 2 September. A bus and coach replacement service will be in operation.

ENDS