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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.

With less than a week before Christmas, passengers are being reminded to plan ahead and check before they travel as Network Rail invests £11m as part of its Railway Upgrade Plan in the south east.

Network Rail is reminding passengers to the south and west of London to plan their journeys as early as possible this Christmas. This is ahead of a programme of upgrade work taking place on the country’s rail network over the Christmas period.

Passengers at Camberley station will soon benefit from longer trains as Network Rail’s work to extend the station’s platforms continues.

Thames Valley rail passengers can look forward to better journeys and the introduction of new GWR trains in 2017 following the achievement of the latest milestone in the electrification of the railway between Heathrow junction and Maidenhead by Network Rail as part of the Crossrail programme.

Network Rail chair, Sir Peter Hendy, opened new sidings in Robertsbridge, East Sussex, on Tuesday (6 December) linking the rail network to the Rother Valley Railway (RVR) for the first time.