NO HOLDING BACK WHILE LOWERING THE TRACK

Wednesday 14 Apr 2004

NO HOLDING BACK WHILE LOWERING THE TRACK

Region & Route:: | Southern

A three-week project to lower the track at Hadleigh Road bridge in Ipswich will enter its second phase this Sunday. Lowering the track by 150mm started on Easter Sunday and this engineering work will take a further two weeks to complete. Mark Livock, Network Rail Project Director said: “Lowering the track by 150mm may not sound a lot, but a great deal of work is needed to complete the task. Engineers firstly have to take up the track and sleepers, dig out the old ballast and sand foundations, excavate the 150mm and then put everything back again! We specifically planned this work to take place over just three Sundays to minimise disruption to passengers.” Using hand tools as well as mechanical diggers, a total of 400 yards of track will be lowered and almost a metre of ballast and sand excavated. Lowering the track at Hadleigh Road bridge forms part of the national Felixstowe to Nuneaton freight upgrade project, which includes work to increase the size of bridges and tunnels (including Ipswich tunnel) to accommodate taller freight containers. The project will see railway freight at the Port of Felixstowe thrive. One Anglia will provide buses between Ipswich and Woodbridge and Ipswich and Felixstowe on Sunday 18 and Sunday 25 April. For further travel information contact National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50 or www.oneanglia.com.

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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.

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