WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING….. NEW TRACKS WERE LAID

Monday 20 Sep 2004

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING….. NEW TRACKS WERE LAID

Region & Route:: | Southern

Rail passengers travelling between Branksome and Parkstone can now expect a smoother, quieter and more reliable journey thanks to a £275,000 track renewals project by Network Rail. Over 200 yards of track were replaced during the nights of 16 and 17 September, as125 Network Rail employees removed old ballast, track and sleepers – and the line was opened each morning for passenger services. David Pape, Network Rail Route Director, said: “This project highlights our commitment to improving performance and reliability, and delivering a better railway for passengers in the South. We are pleased that the work was completed so efficiently that rail passengers and local residents wouldn’t have known it was taking place. We are sure passengers travelling on this crucial South coast route will notice the benefits straight away.” In total, 606 tonnes of ballast, 284 concrete sleepers and 12 tonnes of continuous rail were replaced. As well as laying new track, the team also cleared scrap and debris from the railway. This work is part of the massive £1.72 billion investment programme committed to the Southern region over the next three years.

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 - South East route
020 3357 7969
southeastroutecomms@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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