Track and signalling

Great Western electrification preparation to begin

12.06.13: Network Rail has awarded contracts for the planned electrification of the Great Western Main Line. A joint venture between Atkins and Parsons Brinckerhoff will install around 20,000 overhead line support structures along the route. The work...

ETCS test proves a success for Hitachi

11.06.13: Hitachi has successfully tested its onboard ETCS (European Train Control System) with Network Rail’s Cambrian Line signalling system and achieved ETCS level 2 operation. The Class 97301 locomotive has been retrofitted with the system...

Whifflet route to be electrified ahead of 2014

31.05.13: The last elements of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) will not be complete until 2018 – although elements of the electrification programme have been brought forward. The line between Glasgow, Rutherglen and Coatbridg...

Translink trials new ballast cleaning method

28.05.13: Translink has been trialling a new ballast cleaning machine, on loan from Irish Rail (Iarnrod Eireann). Northern Ireland transport minister Danny Kennedy visited the On-Track Ballast Cleaning Machine along with Translink group chief executi...

OLEC selects Carillion to provide electrification training

21.05.13: Carillion has opened a new electrification training centre to develop skills and capability for Network Rail’s £2bn electrification expansion programme. The OHL training span is based at Carillion’s projects and training y...

Legal challenge to new London-Oxford line fails

20.05.13: The new rail link between London and Oxford line will go ahead, after a legal case brought by an Oxford resident failed in the High Court. The DfT approved the £130m Evergreen 3 proposal last year, with construction due to start this...

Lewes – Uckfield should link Brighton to London

13.05.13: The reopening of Lewes to Uckfield would have no business case unless it was extended as a second Brighton main line to London, the BML2 Project Group has stated. The group is calling for a longer route to be considered, including the resto...

The switch to GSM-R

01.05.13: Network Rail’s FTN/GSM-R project has hit the latest in a series of major milestones, and over the next 18 months most of the rest of the country will become operational. Adam Hewitt reports. On December 31, 2012, the old analogue NRN...

Local wildlife protection during Borders Railway construction

30.04.13: Borders Railway is working to protect the environment and local wildlife along the route, Network Rail has announced. The project team is committed to minimising disruption of animal’s habitat during construction. Work so far has incl...

WCML speed upgrade set to start

24.04.13: Work is to take place on the West Coast Main Line to increase the speed of trains, by replacing and enhancing major rail junctions. The £18m scheme aims to boost reliability and punctuality. Network Rail will relay three miles of trac...

Translink replaces last section of jointed track with CWR

22.04.13: Jointed track is soon to be a ‘thing of the past’ in Northern, with the last section due to be replaced by continuous welded rail (CWR) next month. Translink called it “the end of an era for that classic ‘clickety-cl...

Loughor Viaduct replacement complete

05.04.13: The £48m South Wales rail upgrade is almost complete, Network Rail has announced. The work has seen Loughor Viaduct replaced and a 5.25 mile stretch of line through Gowerton is being redoubled. A 16-day closure between Swansea and Lla...

£3.75m improvements for Tarka Line

04.04.13: The Tarka Line has seen £3.75m investment, relaying 3.8 miles of track, Network Rail has announced. The work will improve reliability and performance, providing a smoother ride for passengers. Drainage works have taken place at Collet...

Availability, maintainability and reliability - SSR re-signalling

01.04.13: The new signalling system for London Underground’s sub-surface lines is being tested at the Old Dalby test track in Leicestershire. RTM talks to Bombardier’s project manager Peter Acton. Testing has now begun on the new signall...

Easing the bottleneck

01.04.13: Mark Langman, Network Rail route managing director for Wales, spoke to RTM about the recent Loughor Viaduct replacement and track redoubling in south west Wales. Good timetabling can only take services up to a certain rate; eventually trac...