Media centre

Monday 30 Dec 2024

Railway reopens following successful £19m Christmas investment between London St Pancras and Bedford

Region & Route:

Eastern

| Eastern: East Midlands

Major engineering work over Christmas has successfully delivered a £19m investment – including a new road bridge deck over track at Camden – in just nine days.

Trains between London St Pancras and Harpenden have resumed following the closure, which saw the 160-year-old Agar Grove structure in London completely removed and replaced to improve journeys on the Midland Main Line.

Network Rail has thanked passengers and neighbours for their patience after a successful handover in the early hours of today (Monday 30 December) allowed rail services to resume.

In addition to Agar Grove, a new bridge was slid beneath the track at Herfordshire to provide access to the Radlett Strategic Rail Freight Interchange. The “underbridge” was built beside the railway ready to be pushed into place last week at the site, which will contribute to a significant reduction of HGVs on the roads.

Hundreds of Network Rail colleagues worked around the clock during the nine-day track shutdown, with progress on replacing power lines near Bedford to allow new electric trains to run, and dozens of smaller maintenance projects being carried out to keep the railway safe and reliable.

Mark Budden, Network Rail route director, said: “This project has been many years in the making, with meticulous planning of every detail, and its successful delivery is an outstanding achievement.

“The bridge deck at Agar Grove was more than 160 years old and needed replacing. While there is no perfect time to close the railway, the Christmas break provides the best opportunity because of lower passenger numbers.

“We’re extremely thankful to residents living near the site for their understanding, and for the patience of passengers whose journeys were disrupted.

“These essential upgrades will result in smoother and more reliable journeys for passengers in the future.”

Our colleagues will still be seen at Agar Grove until May as the crane is removed and multiple services including water pipes and telephone cables are reinstated through the new deck. 

Planned engineering work continues elsewhere on the railway so passengers are reminded to check with National Rail Enquiries or their train operator before travelling.