Network Rail completes major rail upgrade in Manchester as part of Transpennine Route Upgrade: Network Rail completes major rail upgrade in Manchester as part of Transpennine Route Upgrade -3

Tuesday 4 Jan 2022

Network Rail completes major rail upgrade in Manchester as part of Transpennine Route Upgrade

Region & Route:
Eastern: North & East
| Eastern
  • Network Rail has completed a major track and signalling upgrade in Manchester as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade
  • The improvements bring a more modern, reliable railway for passengers and allow more trains to run in the future
  • Further work is planned every Sunday between 9 January and 6 February – passengers advised to plan ahead

A major rail upgrade in Manchester is now complete after Network Rail improved track and signalling equipment to boost reliability.

Across seven days, between Saturday 25 December 2021 and Monday 3 January 2022, more than 100 railway workers installed four new track components – used to direct trains – completed two sections of new electric wiring – which powers some trains – and upgraded signalling equipment near Manchester Victoria station.

The improvements help to bring a more modern, reliable railway as well as creating the capacity for more trains to run in the future, improving connectivity across the North.

This work is part of the wider Transpennine Route Upgrade which will bring faster, more reliable services for passengers travelling between York, Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester.

Neil Holm, Transpennine Route Upgrade Director for Network Rail, said: “We’re making real progress in delivering better, more enjoyable rail journeys for those travelling in Manchester. The work we’ve completed over Christmas will allow us to run more and faster trains in the future as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade.

“We’ll need to continue upgrading the railway in and around Manchester throughout 2022 to complete a package of benefits aimed at improving passenger’s experience. I’d like to thank people for their patience as we continue to deliver a better railway for the north of England.”

Further work to renew track in Manchester is planned every Sunday between 9 January and 6 February, which will mean some changes to services. Passengers are advised to plan ahead and check their journey via National Rail Enquiries.

ENDS

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 - Amy Brenndorfer
Senior Communications Manager
07858375508
07730359569
Amy.Brenndorfer@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.

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