Media centre

Thursday 30 Jan 2014

Revised plan means less passenger disruption on West Coast main line during essential Watford upgrade

Region & Route:

Two proposed closures of the West Coast main line at Watford have been withdrawn after a detailed review of the work meant they were no longer necessary.

Network Rail had originally planned a 16-day closure in August 2014 and a nine-day closure in February 2015 to carry out significant upgrade work as part of an £81m investment to improve reliability and punctuality on one of the busiest sections of railway in Europe.

Following feedback from passengers and discussions with industry partners, a thorough review of the project has meant it has been possible to amend the planned work to be carried out over three weekends in August and two weekends in February, reducing the levels of disruption to passengers.

Dyan Crowther, Network Rail’s route managing director, said: “Working with our industry partners we have been able to develop a revised schedule of work at Watford that will cause less disruption for passengers.

“There is never a good time to close the railway and removing these two significant closures means we will have to carry out the work over eight separate weekends and Bank Holidays which will still impact on journeys. However, the feedback from passengers suggested this was a preferred situation.

“We will now liaise with the train companies to plan for the work and to provide passengers with information in advance and during the work to minimise disruption as possible.”

Phil Bearpark, operations and customer service director for Virgin Trains, said: “We welcome the news that Network Rail has created a plan that will not involve a 16-day closure in August or a nine-day closure in February, which would have had a significant impact on all our customers.

“Although the new plan now largely involves weekend and bank holiday closures, we are still aware that many customers will be affected and we are working with industry partners to offer sensible alternative travel routes.”

Patrick Verwer, London Midland’s managing director, said: “It’s great news that our colleagues at Network Rail have been able to revise the work schedule for the Watford resignalling project. Our passengers who commute into London on a daily basis were extremely concerned about the impact of the initial blockade dates, and I am confident they will welcome this decision”.

Guy Dangerfield from independent watchdog Passenger Focus said “Passengers will be enormously relieved that the West Coast route will not now be closed at Watford for days on end in August 2014 and February 2015”.

In the past 15 years the number of trains using the West Coast main line has doubled – increasing the pressure and wear and tear on the infrastructure. With the number of trains due to increase as Network Rail and train companies work together to increase capacity wherever possible, continued investment and renewals are essential to provide passengers with the best possible level of service.

During the work, all signalling between Kings Langley and Bushey will be renewed and more than 15km of new track will be laid. There will be an upgrade of the overhead line equipment and platform 10 at Watford Junction will be modified to allow longer trains to be stabled.