Track renewals continuing in south-east London – Hither Green resignalling deferred
DESPITE restrictions on how engineering staff can operate under social distancing rules, Network Rail has completed heavy maintenance work and track renewals at Hither Green, New Cross, Westcombe Park and Bickley in south-east London.
However, the planned commissioning of new signalling around Hither Green over the Easter weekend had to be postponed to comply with Public Health England advice on working during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Between April 10 and 13, train services were suspended between Lewisham, Orpington, Bromley North and Sidcup as planned station improvements, track renewals, signalling resilience work and electrical upgrades took place.
However, as many of the tasks required to commission the new signalling system require staff to work in close proximity, NR chose to postpone it rather than extend the closure to accommodate new working methods.
Earlier work in March included laying almost 1.3 miles of new track and lowering track at an overbridge to provide greater clearance for freight trains at Westcombe Park, near Greenwich.
The latter required the removal of the old track by crane and excavation of the trackbed before new ballast and track was laid. During the project, 26 engineering trains operated, carrying more than 8,000 tonnes of ballast.
At New Cross Gate, switches and crossings were renewed, ballast was repacked and tamped to provide a smoother ride, and rails were reprofiled to eliminate microscopic cracks caused by rolling contact fatigue.
Finally, at Bickley, 527 yards of track was renewed over two weekends in March.