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Thursday 27 Dec 2018

Rail passengers thanked as vital upgrades are completed between Ely and Peterborough over Christmas

Region & Route:

Eastern: Anglia

| Eastern

Vital upgrades have been completed on the line between Ely and Peterborough to reduce delays and cancellations for passengers.

On Whittlesey Road in March, Network Rail engineers have replaced barriers and pedestals at a level crossing to make the crossing safer and more reliable. Nearly 100m of track was also renewed at the site which sees around 176 passenger and freight trains per day.

Further along the line, engineers worked at Manea Bridge, where weathered timbers were replaced and steel work repairs were made to make the railway safer and allow for the removal of a speed restriction that slows trains down through this section. This means fewer delays and cancellations for passenger and freight trains.

Across the country, a 25,000-strong workforce is working more than 380,000 hours to keep the railway open and deliver 330 projects.

The work was completed at the quietest time for rail travel on the country’s railway with around half the normal number of passengers travelling compared to the 4.7 million who typically use the network daily.

Meliha Duymaz, Network Rail’s route managing director for Anglia, said: “We have used the quieter Christmas period to complete these crucial repairs for a safer and high performing railway for our passengers as part of our railway upgrade plan. I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we carried out this essential work.”

Further works are taking place across the region’s rail network until Wednesday 2^nd January. Passengers are advised to check before they travel at www.nationalrail.co.uk.