A busy Christmas as NR engineering projects completed

Network Rail says it completed 260 engineering projects, costing more than £160 million, on time over the Christmas period.

In addition to the reopening of London Bridge station (see separate story), half century-old signalling between Birmingham and Wolverhampton was replaced at a cost of £246m, while remodelling of Liverpool Lime Street station continued with preparations for opening of the new Platform 8.

Track renewal and remodelling also took place at Soho North Junction between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, and there were track upgrades at Kentish Town.

More remodelling took place at Edinburgh Waverley with tracks replaced between there and Haymarket. And in the West Country electrification between Maidenhead and Didcot was completed slightly earlier than scheduled, on December 27.

Between Newcastle and Heaton nine signal heads were converted to LEDs. And on the London North Western Region, tracks were replaced at Manchester Piccadilly’s Platforms 13 and 14.

In the South, drainage improvements were made in the two-mile Sevenoaks Tunnel, and at Redhill new track and signalling was installed between there and Eastwood.

Six kilometres (3.7 miles) of cabling and 200 metres of tracks were replaced at Northam Junction (Southampton), and piling work took place to install more signals between Bristol and Oxford.

On Crossrail, electrification works took place between Old Oak Common and Paddington to electrify the new lines connecting the Crossrail depot and tunnels to the Great Western Main Line. And at Acton Main Line and Hayes & Harlington stations, piling works took place as part of advanced works on station upgrades.

On the eastern section of Crossrail, switches and crossings were installed at Gidea Park, while at Pudding Mill Lane signalling cables were installed to connect the Crossrail tunnel signalling system to the Great Eastern Main Line. Overhead line equipment was renewed at Shenfield.

Remaining in the Anglia Region, 10km of overhead lines were replaced at Ilford, and a bridge was replaced between Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness.

“Mega-projects like that at London Bridge, as well as hundreds of smaller projects across the country, will bring real benefits to millions of passengers,” said NR Chief Executive Mark Carne.

“We have been working tirelessly across the Christmas break to deliver these improvements, and I am pleased that passengers will begin to see the benefits they will bring.”