Media centre

A Rayleigh woman who has worked in the rail industry for over 50 years has been awarded an MBE for services to Transport in the East of England.

Major progress was made over Christmas at the site of the new Cambridge North station, which is now 80% complete, to get it ready for its opening in May this year as part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan.

A long-standing speed restriction in place on the railway between Shenfield, Essex and Seven Kings, London during the summer can now be lifted, following completion of important railway improvement works over Christmas, benefiting all passengers travelling between Norwich and London.

Network Rail and The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre visited Joyce Frankland Academy in Newport, Essex on Tuesday, 13 December, to perform their hard-hitting ‘Off the Level’ production and teach students about railway safety.

Network Rail project manager, Gary Desmond, from Benfleet, Essex is about to work his 16^th Christmas, delivering important upgrades to make the railway more reliable for the increasing number of passengers who travel from Southend to London Liverpool Street.

As part of the £133 million project to electrify the railway between Gospel Oak and Barking, Network Rail and its main contractor Murphy have committed to creating a wildflower meadow as part of the new Walthamstow Wetlands.

Pedestrians and cyclists who cross the railway at Trinity Lane, Waltham Cross can now do so more safely, thanks to the installation of a new footbridge.

Residents of Hertfordshire and Essex are invited to see updated proposals being taken forward to close level crossings in the region, as a result of feedback from consultation sessions held earlier in the year.