Engineers will undertake a track upgrade on the East Suffolk Line later this week.
The six-day works programme will see over 1700 metres of track renewed between Woodbridge and Westerfield Junction.
The upgraded line will improve passenger services and will be better equipped to accommodate increased freight traffic on the Anglia Route, as future freight trains serve the Sizewell C nuclear power station construction project.
The programme of work includes renewing rail, sleepers and ballast as part of a wider programme of track renewal along the line. Engineers will replace the existing jointed track with continuously welded rail, which reduces noise from passing trains and gives passengers a smoother ride.
Lawrence Bowman, Network Rail’s Route Director for Anglia said:
“There is never a good time to close a section of railway but having a longer period to work means we can do so much more with the time and it means a better and reliable railway for our customers.”
The work follows up a substantial upgrade programme in 2023 which saw engineers stabilise a mile-long section of embankment between Ipswich and Lowestoft which was slipping away, threatening the integrity of important signalling equipment and risking safe and reliable running on the line.
Image credit: Network Rail
