‘Stay off the railway’ warning as high voltage cables switched on in Manchester: Manchester Vic OLE installation

Tuesday 16 Jul 2019

‘Stay off the railway’ warning as high voltage cables switched on in Manchester

Region & Route:
North West & Central

Members of the public are being warned to stay off the railway as new high voltage equipment goes live on the line between Stalybridge and Manchester Victoria.

A new power supply has been installed to support the ongoing introduction of electric trains across the North West as part of the Great North Rail Project - providing passengers with better, more reliable journeys. 

Now the electricity has been switched on, residents in the area are being reminded to never trespass on the tracks as the new equipment - which carries 25,000 volts of electricity - poses an even greater risk to life and limb now it is live.

Joe Haynes, scheme project manager at Network Rail, said: “Safety is our priority and we are informing local people about the new equipment which is used to supply power to the North West’s rail network.

“Once installed, the cables are always switched on - even when there are no trains passing. It carries 25,000 volts of electricity, which can be fatal. Our message is simple – never trespass on the railway for any reason.”

For more information railway safety visit networkrail.co.uk/safety-in-the-community.

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office - North West & Central Region
0330 854 0100
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

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