Network Rail will be investing £15 million over Christmas in the North West and Central regions as it looks to upgrade and improve key infrastructure across the network.
Work includes major upgrades at Lichfield Trent Valley station, including a brand new platform bridge lifted into place alongside new trackside equipment being installed further down the line in Birmingham.
Alongside the new platform being lifted into place, work will continue on reinstating platform three at Lichfield. Over Christmas, a 650-tonne crane will lift the new 40-metre-long bridge deck into place ready for trains to once again serve the station in the new year and signalling systems will also be upgraded.
Engineers will also be carrying out work on the new freight terminal at Northampton, which was recently connected to the West Coast main line. The facility is currently under construction and engineers will be finishing work on track maintenance and signalling on the site before its anticipated opening next year.
HS2 will be continuing work on the construction of the Curdworth Box. The Curdworth Box is an innovative ‘box-slide’ bridge which will be one of only a handful in the country once completed, follows on from the Marston Box, which was slid into place last year.
Further up the mainline, engineers will be completing essential upgrades in the Lake District as it replaces rail track and ballast in Oxenholme and Bolton-le-Sands in Lancashire.
Lastly, work will get underway on the multi-million pound refurbishment of Stoke-On-Trent train station. The Grade II listed Victorian train shed will have new glazing installed alongside the complex repositioning of overhead line supports. Work on Stoke-On-Trent train station will continue throughout 2024.
Dave Penney, Network Rail’s North West and Central region passenger director, said: “While people enjoy time with their friends and families over Christmas, thousands of Network Rail staff will be working round-the-clock to maintain and improve the railway to provide passengers with better, more reliable journeys in the New Year.”
Photo Credits: Network Rail
