Monday 6 Aug 2018
Team Orange complete major section of Reading to Newbury electrification on time
- Region & Route:
- Wales & Western: Western
- | Wales & Western
The railway line through Newbury reopened as planned this morning (Monday 6 August) following a three-week closure to allow Team Orange to install wiring to prepare the line for electrification.
This latest programme of work was one of many being carried out in the area throughout 2018 as part of the electrification of the line through Berkshire, including track renewals, level crossing work, and platform extensions at Newbury station to allow GWR to run brand new, longer electric trains to serve stations throughout west Berkshire from early 2019.
During the 21-day closure, more than 30 miles of wiring was installed, as hundreds of Network Rail engineers worked around the clock to deliver a major section of the project to upgrade the line. The electric wire will carry 25,000 volts of electricity above the 40 miles of track between Reading and Newbury, representing a major project for the railway, which is why the line was closed for 3-weeks. If the work had been done during weekends and at night, it would have taken a significant amount of time to complete.
David Buisson, Major Programme Director for Network Rail said ‘The work delivered by the entire RS2 team during the blockade was outstanding and a major step forward in electrifying this section of the railway. I would also like to pay tribute to the Communications team for the fantastic efforts they put in prior to and during the blockade which resulted in not only a great awareness campaign for the traveling public but also ensured the total number of complaints we received for the blockade were at a phenomenally low total of five. Simply outstanding.’
Passengers in west Berkshire will benefit from a more reliable railway and faster journey times from early 2019 following the completion of the electrification work in late 2018 as part of the Railway Upgrade Plan.
To find out more about electrification in west Berkshire please visit our webpage here: -
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