NETWORK RAIL POURS £350,000 DOWN THE DRAIN

Monday 3 Apr 2006

NETWORK RAIL POURS £350,000 DOWN THE DRAIN – TO KEEP TRAINS RUNNING

Region & Route:

Network Rail is pouring £350,000 into a project to improve drainage on the railway line running through the Walk Mill area to the south-east of Burnley, between Towneley and Holme tunnels. This will protect the railway line and keep it reliable for passengers. Gary Openshaw, Network Rail Area General Manager for Lancs & Cumbria said: “The heavy rainfall in the county can create challenges for the railway, but our earthwork and drainage experts have produced practical solutions to deal with this.” Evidence of the waterlogging in the area is obvious for all to see in the form of the two large ponds that have formed on either side of the railway embankment. Network Rail’s has started work on installing new drainage, including a ditch at the foot of the embankment to take excess water away. This will allow Network Rail to prevent any water collecting and will improve the surrounding area. The work is expected to be completed in April.

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 - North West & Central Region
0330 854 0100
NWCmediarelations@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.

Media centre