26.08.14
Latest West Coast works completed on time
The third successive weekend of upgrade work at Watford on the West Coast Main Line has been completed on time by Network Rail.
Over the bank holiday weekend, including bank holiday Monday, more than 300 track workers and engineers continued to replace and install new sections of railway and parts of the new modern signalling system in the area.
Jim Syddall, acting route managing director for Network Rail, said: “The past three weekends have seen a significant amount of work completed which will help to provide a better and more reliable railway on the West Coast main line through Watford.
“I would like to thank passengers for their patience while the work was carried out as it meant longer journeys and alternative routes for many travelling in and out of London.”
The August closures were part of eight weekend and bank holiday closures which will take place until April 2015. The works on one of the UK’s most intensively-used sections of rail infrastructure form part of an £81m project to upgrade the railway around Watford.
In order to complete the work more than 21,000 tonnes of stone ballast will be used, more than 28,000 tonnes of waste will be removed from the site and 11,000 new railway sleepers will be installed as part of nine miles of track renewals.
Planning is already underway ahead of the next West Coast Main Line closure at Watford, which will take place between Christmas Eve and Monday 29 December.
Phil Bearpark, Virgin Trains’ executive director for operations and projects, said: “There is never a good time to close the West Coast Main Line – Europe’s busiest mixed-use rail route – and we’d like to thank our customers for bearing with us during the disruption this caused.
“This is always a learning experience and we’ll ensure that any lessons from the August line closures are built into our plans for the next round of closures planned this Christmas.”
To find out more about the West Coast Main Line upgrade work at Watford, read the upcoming Aug/Sept edition of Rail Technology Magazine.
Tell us what you think – have your say below, or email us directly at [email protected]