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Thursday 12 Apr 2007

RENEWING THE RAILWAY IN LIVERPOOL

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Passengers in Merseyside are set to benefit from Network Rail's third phase of track renewal of the underground railway. The £3.3 million project is part of a wider £15 million scheme to replace the entire track that runs beneath the city centre by the end of 2009. Work starts on Saturday 21 April and continues until Monday 28 May, during which time all services from the Wirral lines will terminate at James Street station. A bus shuttle will run from James Street to Lime Street station only. Northern Line and main line services are not affected by the work. Simon Whitehorn, Network Rail's area manager Merseyside said: "The renewal of the track brings benefits for everyone. Passengers get a better quality ride, it causes less wear and tear on Merseyrail's fleet of trains and the new track needs less maintenance by us." The work uses rail fixings manufactured in Australia. These Vipa base plates have been shipped half way round the world in time for the latest stage in the project. They are used to hold in place the two rails that make up the railway track. They also cut down on noise and vibration, so rail passengers get a smoother, quieter ride. The underground system in Liverpool is unusual compared to conventional railway tracks. Most track systems consist of two rails held in place on sleepers by steel clips. The sleepers, which can be either wooden, steel or concrete, are packed into grey stone chippings known as ballast. However, the four mile long Liverpool underground system constructed in 1971 consists of a circular loop line in a single bore tunnel. The railway lines sit on Vipa base plates which are bolted to a solid slab of concrete that takes the place of the sleepers and ballast. This system is used because of the limited clearance in the tunnels and the need to ensure that the track does not move out of alignment. Two more phases of work are needed to complete the entire track renewal. Phase four sees the renewal of track between Birkenhead Park and Hamilton Square. This is proposed to take place in February 2008 before the Capital of Culture celebrations begin in earnest, and will only be for 10 days. Network Rail is investigating the possibility of keeping the Wirral Lines open during the work. The final phase will be the section of track between Moorfields and Lime Street. Work is expected to take place in 2009 but no specific dates have been proposed.