Media centre

Tuesday 5 Jan 2016

Public thanked for their patience after railway improvement work in the south west and Thames Valley completes on time

Region & Route:

| Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

| Southern

Network Rail and Great Western Railway thanked passengers and lineside neighbours today for their patience following the completion, on time, of railway improvement work in the south west and Thames Valley over the Christmas and New Year period.

As part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan, an extensive programme of work totalling £60m took place over Christmas and the New Year to prepare the Great Western Main Line for the arrival of electrification, the new fleet of electric trains and Crossrail services from 2018. This work totalled over 325,000 orange army hours worked and included:

• Major track and signalling upgrades at locations in Berkshire and west London including Maidenhead, Acton, Old Oak Common and Stockley to increase capacity and improve the reliability of the railway
• Station upgrades at Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Hayes & Harlington, Southall and Maidenhead
• Upgrading the overhead power lines between Acton and the junction to Heathrow airport
• Re-aligning the tracks at Heathrow junction and installing a new set of points, to enable trains to move from one track to another
• Electrification preparation work in west London and Berkshire
• The extension of platform 14 at Paddington station in preparation for the longer electric trains
• The replacement of Stratton Green bridge in Swindon with a new, higher bridge to make the additional room needed for the overhead electrification lines that will be installed underneath.

The above work involved the installation of:

• 1,527 metres of new track
• 6,300 concrete sleepers
• 57,800 tons of ballast (the stones under the track)
• 11 new sets of points
• 25 new signals
• 174 miles of new signal cables
• 11 new under track crossings for signal cables
• 176 foundations for the overhead electrification equipment
• 134 electrification masts (the vertical steel structure)
• 123 electrification booms (the horizontal steel structure)
• Over 11,700 metres of new overhead electrification wiring

Mark Langman, Network Rail’s managing director for the Western route, said: “Our work over this Christmas and New Year was one of the biggest packages of improvement work on the Western route to date.

“I’m pleased to announce that all the upgrades were completed on time and I’d like to thank passengers and our lineside neighbours for their patience and understanding while this essential modernisation work took place.

“Now these projects are complete, they will pave the way for the new fleet of longer, faster, quieter and greener electric trains, and for the introduction of Crossrail services from 2018 that will provide passengers travelling from the south east with faster journeys and more direct services to London.”

Mark Hopwood, GWR’s managing director, said: “The Great Western network is already seeing the biggest investment since Brunel, and these improvement works will allow passengers to take advantage of the full benefits of electrification; providing newer trains, faster, more frequent services and importantly, given the growth this network has seen in recent years, more seats.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

About the Great Western Electrification Programme

Electrification will transform the railway between London and Oxford, Newbury, Bristol and Cardiff to deliver a faster, greener, quieter and more reliable railway for passengers, with extra capacity. Electrifying this part of the Great Western route will enhance 235 miles of one of Britain’s busiest and oldest railways, better connecting major towns and cities across southern England and South Wales. This investment, as well as the introduction of a fleet of new trains, will improve journey times and make services more comfortable, smoother, cleaner and quieter for passengers and people living near the railway.

For more information about the Great Western Electrification Programme, visit: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/great-western-route-modernisation/

About the Crossrail programme

Network Rail is responsible for the design, development and delivery of the parts of Crossrail that are on the existing network.

The total funding available to deliver Crossrail is £14.8bn. The Crossrail route will serve 40 stations and run more than 100km from Reading and Heathrow in the west, through new twin-bore 21 km (13 miles) tunnels below central London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.

Crossrail is being delivered by Crossrail Limited (CRL). CRL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London. Crossrail is jointly sponsored by the Department for Transport and Transport for London.