Tuesday 27 Sep 2016

Newbury residents to learn more about railway upgrade

Newbury residents have been invited to a drop-in event to learn more about Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan to prepare the railway for the arrival of a new fleet of bigger, faster and greener electric trains.

Members of the Network Rail project team will be on hand to provide an update on the Boundary Road bridge replacement work and the installation of new electrical equipment – both part of work to upgrade the line for electric trains.

Graeme Tandy, Network Rail’s project director for the Thames Valley area, said: “I’d urge anyone who wants to learn more about our Railway Upgrade Plan in the area to come along. This work is essential in order to electrify the railway and make way for a new fleet of bigger, faster and greener electric trains, which will feature more seats for passengers and reduce noise and air pollution for those living near the line.”

Cllr James Fredrickson said: “I'm delighted‎ to see that Network Rail is delivering on their promise to host regular drop in sessions for residents. They're a great way for the local community to get up to speed on the work ahead, particularly as it approaches its final stages.”

This event will take place between 4pm and 7pm on Wednesday, 5 October at the Old London Apprentice, 2 Hambridge Road, Newbury, RG14 5SS.

ENDS

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

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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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