Media centre

Monday 5 Jul 2021

Network Rail completes track improvements between York and Church Fenton

Region & Route:

Eastern

| Eastern: North & East

• Weekend work to upgrade the track between York and Church Fenton delivered on time
• Around 450 metres of track, sleepers and ballast replaced over two days
• A lightning strike late last night caused a signalling fault affecting first trains this morning - passengers urged to check before they travel via National Rail Enquiries.

Over the weekend (Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 July), Network Rail successfully completed work to upgrade the track between York and Church Fenton which will bring more reliable journeys for passengers in Yorkshire.

Network Rail engineers replaced around 450 metres of track on the busy line which runs through Ulleskelf station which will reduce the amount of maintenance work needed in the future.

These upgrades will improve reliability in the area ahead of future improvements as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade, which will bring more trains, faster journeys and a more reliable railway between Manchester and York via Huddersfield and Leeds.

However, due to the bad weather over the weekend, a lightning strike is suspected to have caused a signalling fault in the area. This is causing delays to services between Leeds and Church Fenton.

Network Rail teams have now successfully repaired the damage and services are moving, but knock-on delays are expected throughout the morning. Passengers are urged to check before they travel via National Rail Enquiries or their train operator.

Matt Rice, Route Director for Network Rail’s North and East Route, said: “I’m delighted that the track improvements were completed as planned. This upgrade will provide smoother, more reliable journeys for passengers making short connections across Yorkshire and I’d like to thank passengers for their patience whilst the work was carried out.

“It’s unfortunate that a lightning strike late last night affected trains first thing this morning, but our teams have worked hard to fix the issue and services should be back to normal soon.”

ENDS