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Friday 4 Sep 2009

TRACK RENEWAL COMPLETES THE PICTURE AT NELSON

Region & Route:

Following completion of a brand new bus/rail interchange and a completely refurbished station platform canopy, Network Rail’s maintenance teams have completed the picture at Nelson railway station in East Lancashire by completely re-laying the track through the station.

Network Rail’s route director Jo Kaye explains: “There is only a single line through Nelson station so we did not have the luxury of being able to bring all the equipment and materials in on one line while we worked on the other, as is usual. Added to this, the line is on a curve and we were working right up against the platform, part of which goes over a road bridge.

“Thanks to our maintenance people from various depots in Lancashire and Cheshire we delivered the project on time – or was it divine intervention as a thank you for stopping the noisy work while a nearby church service was in progress?”

The work was carried out over two Sundays and involved up to 16 people per shift taking up the rails and sleepers so the track bed could be dug out. The stones that form the base for the track had become contaminated over the years and needed to be replaced.

Using a variety of specialist road/rail equipment, a total of 720 tonnes of new stone was brought in and a laser guided bulldozer was used to get the right levels for the curved track. The actual rails through the station were in a good condition and did not need replacing, so they were attached to new wooden sleepers using new base plates and clips.

This £103,000 project adds to the £4.5m spent on the interchange and the £200,000 investment in the canopy refurbishment.