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Wednesday 27 Feb 2008

NETWORK RAIL EASTER IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME (North East & Yorkshire)

Region & Route:

Network Rail has announced that improvements will be delivered across the country this Easter with 29km of track laid, new signalling and points, and the replacement of a 50m viaduct on the Cumbria Coast. This investment, totalling £75m, will lead to a more reliable, better performing railway, and a better service for passengers. In the North East and Yorkshire works are being carried at Sheffield Station, Temple Hirst, Mirfield and Naworth. These are a combination of track renewal works and - in the case of Sheffield - more complicated replacement of switches and crossings in the busy station area (details below). For more details on Network Rail’s major Easter works visit www.networkrail.co.uk Iain Coucher, Network Rail Chief Executive said: "In just four days over Easter Network Rail will deliver 300,000 hours of improvement work across the country. Around 6,000 engineers will be working day and night to meet demands for a better railway from the travelling public.

"Following the New Year, we have listened to passengers and those who represent them and now our planning and preparation is more robust than ever. Each project is an immense engineering challenge in its own right, and Network Rail is absolutely determined to deliver a safe and reliable railway back to passengers and freight users at the promised time. "Because of the volume of work this Easter, we're advising people to double check their travel plans. We'll be working closely with the train operating companies and National Rail Enquiries to make sure that the very latest information is available." Local works: Sheffield: As part of a £4, 700, 000 investment engineers will be renewing vital parts of the track at the north end of Sheffield station between 6pm Friday 21 March and the early hours of Tuesday 25 March. This work will improve the reliability of the line and require less maintenance, allowing resources to be deployed elsewhere on the network. Northern Rail and First TransPennine Express services from Huddersfield, Leeds and Doncaster will all be terminating at Meadowhall. Leeds-Huddersfield: The line between Dewsbury and Huddersfield will be closed from 11.15pm on Saturday 22 to 9pm Sunday 23 for track renewal work on the line at Mirfield worth around £385, 000. A bus service will operate between Leeds and Huddersfield and the only through train service between Leeds and Manchester will be the Northern Rail Calder Valley service via Halifax and Hebden Bridge. First TransPennine Express services will be turning round at Leeds and Huddersfield. York-Doncaster: Essential track renewal work is taking place at Temple Hirst from 2pm on Saturday, 22 March to 2pm on Sunday, 23 March. National Express East Coast services between London King’s Cross and Leeds will be unaffected. Services between London King’s Cross and Scotland will be diverted via Leeds by diesel trains, resulting in longer journey times but without passengers having to board replacement coaches. The work is the last of four weekends of maintenance in this area, costing around £630,000. Newcastle-Carlisle: £316, 000 is being invested in track works on the line Haltwhistle and Carlisle. These will be carried out from 00.40 Saturday 22 March to 5.30am Monday 24 March at Naworth. A bus service will operate between Haltwhistle and Carlisle. Carlisle station is also blocked by engineering work until 4.45am on Monday 24 March. For more details on Network Rail’s major Easter works visit www.networkrail.co.uk/ IMPROVED PLANNING AND PREPARATION Network Rail is working closely with train operators, Passenger Focus and other partners in the rail industry to get up to date information to passengers before they travel. Travel information for Easter has been available from National Rail Enquiries for several weeks. In January Network Rail committed to setting up military-style command centres for major works. This new structure was used for the first time this month on a ten day project at Leamington in the Midlands. This £75 million track and signalling project was delivered on time. Over recent weeks, Network Rail has been consulting within the rail industry on the best way to deliver significantly more trains on the West Coast without unplanned disruption for passengers. The company is planning to deliver a £750m programme of investment in just nine months.