Work is continuing on the Midland Mainline electrification project as Network Rail begin major upgrades this weekend.
Alongside continuing on the electrification project in the Midlands, Network Rail will also be making upgrades and repairs further south which will cause disruptions between London and the Midlands.
Engineers will work on renewing signals in West Hampstead, Greater London and upgrading track in Harpenden in Hertfordshire.
Electrification works will also continue just south of Bedford which forms part of the Midland Mainline upgrades and further work will be undertaken to increase capacity between Luton and St Albans to increase future capacity that section of the line.
The Midland Mainline electrification project aims to electrify the whole of the Midland Mainline. So far, since the project got underway, Network Rail has upgraded and electrified the route between London and Corby with the next section planned between Kettering and Nottingham, with core works and foundations already completed in April.
Once completed, the £1.3 billion Midland Mainline electrification programme will enable electric operation of bi-mode trains on the whole of the line. East Midlands Railway introduced Class 810 bi-mode trains to run on the line last year.
Piling work to lay foundations on the line near Leicester will also commence later this month, however they will be undertaken during the evening, with minimal disruption expected.
Steve Hopkinson, Operations Director for Network Rail in the East Midlands, said: “I’m pleased that were pushing ahead with this work on the Midland Main Line and between Derby and Nottingham. Our continued work to electrify the Midland Main Line is incredibly important and will lead to a cleaner and greener railway in our region, whilst track upgrades in the East Midlands will make sure that we can continue to maintain a safe and reliable railway.”
Image Credit: Network Rail
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