New track installed between Norwich and London to make railway services more reliable

Tuesday 3 Oct 2017

New track installed between Norwich and London to make railway services more reliable

Region & Route:: Eastern: Anglia; | Eastern

Work began this weekend to install new track at Kelvedon that will make services from Norwich to London more reliable for the millions of people that travel on this route every year.

Two switches and crossings units, the moveable sections of track that guide trains from one track to another and allow them to cross paths, were installed over the weekend (30 September – 1 October) and another two will be installed this coming weekend.

This follows the installation of 274 metres of new track between Stowmarket and Manningtree last month. Over time, track becomes worn from constant use, especially on the busy main line, and needs to be replaced to keep services on the move to improve reliability.

Ballast, the stones that form the track bed, was also replaced to improve drainage and keep the track in place. This keeps the track in good condition resulting in fewer delays and smoother journeys for passengers.

Meliha Duymaz, Network Rail’s route managing director for Anglia, said: “This work is essential to improve reliability and keep services running smoothly and safely on this busy main line as part of our Railway Upgrade Plan. When complete, the work will benefit all passengers using services that pass through the Kelvedon area. I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we carry out this work.”

Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said: “We’ll make sure customers can complete their journeys while this vital work is taking place. We’ll have about 50 buses a day and extra staff at stations to make sure customers catch the right bus on each day.”

The work continues this weekend on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 October and the following weekend on Sunday 15 October only. Rail replacement bus services will be in place, including a direct bus between Witham and Colchester and a separate local service which will stop at Kelvedon and Marks Tey.

Notes to Editors

Saturday, October 7, 2017 to Sunday, October 8, 2017

All lines are closed between Witham and Marks Tey, all day.

Rail replacement will operate between Marks Tey and Witham for local services and a direct bus service will operate between Colchester and Witham for non-local passengers bound in/ out of London. A revised train service will operate between Liverpool Street and Witham in both directions.

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Lines are closed between Witham and Marks Tey all day.

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 - Katie Mack
Media relations manager (Anglia route)
0330 8577 132
Katie.Mack@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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