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Monday 6 Jan 2025

Passenger and freight journeys improved after £20m Christmas railway upgrades

Region & Route:

North West & Central

The railway between London and Scotland via the West Midlands and the North West has fully reopened after multiple engineering projects were successfully delivered.

Hundreds of engineers and contractors across Network Rail‘s North West and Central region worked around-the-clock over Christmas and New Year on schemes to improve future journeys for passengers and freight.

These included:

• A new digital era for train signalling through Crewe with the completion of a two-year scheme to upgrade a major freight depot and the lines which connect it to the West Coast Main Line
• A major milestone in the electrification of the railway between Wigan and Bolton as the 25,000-volt overhead lines which will soon power trains were switched on for the first time
• Track upgrades through a narrow Victorian tunnel on the West Coast Main Line near Berkhamsted
• A temporary scaffold bridge to divert important utility services from the Greek Street roundabout in Stockport ahead of its replacement next summer
• Upgraded overhead line equipment in Central Manchester and on the West Coast Main Line
• Improved track quality around the Birmingham New Street station area
• Track drainage and upgrade work near Milton Keynes and upgrades between Watford and Milton Keynes

Some of those projects caused disruption to rail travel over the festive period and today (Monday 6 January) those who were impacted are being thanked for their patience.

Phil James, Network Rail’s North West route director, said: “Over the holidays season, many of our colleagues across the route, region and supply chain were out in force on the railway delivering a £20m package of upgrades.

“The completed mammoth projects, which included the modernisation the traffic lights of the railway and overhead line equipment in Crewe, the start of works to rebuild a overbridge on Stockport’s high street and the electrification of the Wigan to Lostock Junction railway, were designed to drive up the reliability of passenger and freight services right across the West Coast Main Line and into Greater Manchester.

“While these upgrades were delivered as a package to prevent journeys being disrupted on consecutive weekends throughout the year, we are grateful to passengers for their patience while bus service replacements were in operation across some parts of the network.”

For more information on key project upgrades please visit here.