Media centre

Wednesday 3 Jan 2018

Railway between London Euston and Carlisle fully reopens after successful Christmas and New Year upgrade

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

The railway between London Euston and Carlisle has fully reopened after a successful programme of upgrades over Christmas and the New Year.

As part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan, work was carried out from London to Lancaster as tracks were renewed, signals were upgraded and bridges refurbished over Christmas Day, Boxing Day and into the New Year.

One of the biggest pieces of work was in the Birmingham area and saw track and signalling upgrades completed between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton. The work finished this morning (3 January) as planned and trains began running as normal between the two cities and on the Cross City line through Birmingham.

Other work completed included:
- Waterproofing the Trent and Mersey Canal bridge, south of Stafford, on the West Coast main line
- Wyre Viaduct upgrades between Lancaster and Preston, part of the Great North Rail Project
- Track renewal through Crick Tunnel between Northampton and Rugby
- Track renewal through platforms 13 and 14 at Manchester Piccadilly station, part of the Great North Rail Project
- Further work at Liverpool Lime Street, part of the Great North Rail Project

Martin Frobisher, London North Western route managing director at Network Rail, said: “I’d like to thank train customers for their patience over the festive period. We understand that work of this magnitude can be disruptive, however the upgrades carried out by Team Orange will help deliver a bigger, better and more reliable railway to meet the ever-increasing demand for rail travel in future.”

Across Britain, 32,600 people worked round-the-clock on 260 projects to provide passengers with a better railway.

Passengers can plan their journeys and check before they travel at www.nationalrail.co.uk.