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Tuesday 16 Jan 2024

Network Rail completes railway reliability upgrades between Hounslow, Staines and Windsor & Eton Riverside

Region & Route:

Southern

| Southern: Wessex

Network Rail is thanking customers for their patience whilst engineers carried out reliability upgrades between Hounslow, Staines and Windsor & Eton Riverside to support the reliable running of the railway and South Western Railway services.

The railway reopened and services resumed as planned this morning (Tuesday 16 January) following three days of upgrades from Saturday 13 to Monday 15 January, during which Network Rail engineers replaced around 1,100m of track, renewed 538m of rail and installed 1,800 tonnes of ballast (the stones that support the track) in the Staines and Windsor area which will provide smoother and more reliable journeys for customers.

While the railway was closed, engineers carried out additional work which included completing structure examinations, clearing litter and graffiti alongside the railway, as well as carrying out further track maintenance, level crossing upgrades in the Egham area and signalling and telecommunications work near Windsor.

Kevin Hoar, Network Rail project manager, said: “These works were really important for us to carry out as they will improve reliability of the railway line for customers travelling in and around south west London.

“It’s always regrettable when we have to close the railway, but delivering this work alongside other small projects at the same time causes less disruption in the long run to our customers travelling on this important stretch of railway.

“We’re grateful to customers and local residents living alongside the railway for their patience and understanding whilst we carried out this vital upgrade to continue modernising the railway in the Windsor and Staines area.”

A spokesperson for South Western Railway commented: “We are grateful to our customers for their patience as our colleagues at Network Rail made these vital improvements to the railway, which will enhance the reliability of services for many years to come.”