Next stage of £68m Wherry Line upgrade completed

A nine-day blockade has enabled Network Rail to install signals and a new junction as part of a £68 million modernisation of two Norfolk branch lines.

The Norwich-Great Yarmouth/ Lowestoft lines (the Wherry Lines) were closed to passengers from October 20-28, while Network Rail continued the staged replacement of semaphore signalling with colour lights.

During the latest closure some 26 new signals were installed, along with associated signalling equipment and new cabling.

At Reedham, some 1,000 metres of track and crossings were renewed, while 300m of track was removed as NR took out a disused siding. As part of this work, the line to Great Yarmouth via Berney Arms was closed, and it will remain closed until the end of the project in April 2019. NR sources admitted to RAIL that stakeholders were not informed of the closure in the correct fashion.

When the scheme is complete, the junction at Reedham will be controlled by the new signalling system. The simplified track layout is designed to improve operational efficiency, although RAIL understands that some rail staff have questioned this.

Meliha Duymaz, Network Rail’s Anglia Route Managing Director, said: “We are one step closer to delivering a whole new signalling system for the Wherry lines as part of our Railway Upgrade Plan.”

Greater Anglia Managing Director Jamie Burles said: “Between us, we are completely modernising the railway in the Yarmouth area, with their new signalling system and our brand new, longer trains which start coming into service next year.”

Other work carried out during the blockade included the installation of 13 LED signals in the Lowestoft area, and installing CCTV and lighting masts at level crossings at Brundall, Strumpshaw, Cantley, Lingwood and Oulton Broad North. Electric route indicators have been installed on the platforms at Great Yarmouth

The next stage of the project is completion of the Lowestoft track remodelling, with two new track point ends installed. Signalling construction will be carried out and new systems tested.

Next spring, there will be a 16-day closure of the branches,

STEVE POTTER. Looking west towards Reedham station on October 20, GB Railfreight 66708 Jayne and 66722 Sir EdwardWatkin wait with an engineer’s train inside the possession. On the left, the disused siding has already been removed, while a crossover enabling access from the Great Yarmouth via Berney Arms route has been lifted. The semaphores will be swept away when the new signalling is fully commissioned next April.