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Network Rail and Great Western Railway thanked passengers and lineside neighbours today for their patience following the completion, on time, of railway improvement work in the south west and Thames Valley over the Christmas and New Year period.

After 10 days of engineering work, a new viaduct has been brought into use at London Bridge, carrying trains to Charing Cross and Waterloo East.

After 10 days of heavy engineering work, a major railway junction at Purley, near Croydon, is back doing its job and carrying thousands of passengers every day.

Hundreds of thousands of passengers and businesses will now be feeling the benefits of the successful completion of Network Rail's £150m Christmas Railway Upgrade Plan resulting in better, more reliable train services and improved passenger facilities.

Passengers travelling on the railway connecting London with Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk have been thanked for their patience over the Christmas and New Year period after Network Rail engineers successfully completed a major programme of improvements to provide better, more reliable services across the region.

• Engineering works to repair damage on West Coast Main Line likely to continue until end of January
• Train Operating Companies working together to keep people moving
• Customers urged to ‘check before they travel’

Margaret Hickish, Network Rail’s access and inclusion manager, has been awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours list for services to disabled people.

Freight lines serving the busy port of Immingham have reopened on time following five days of engineering work in Greater Lincolnshire.