OREANDA-NEWS. Since last September, engineers have been working to reinstate a second track between Kettering and Corby in response to growing demand for passenger and freight services.

The 103m pounds project will pave the way for additional passenger and freight services from the end of 2017.

From June 22 to July 20, piling work to widen and strengthen the existing railway embankment which will allow the existing line to be realigned, and the second line to be installed will be carried out in the Kettering area.

Steve Hughes, Network Rail area director, said: “This vital work will double capacity on this stretch of the network boosting rail travel for thousands of passengers on this route. 

“This investment we are making in the region will take a Victorian railway into the twenty-first century paving the way for smoother and better journeys for passengers. We thank our neighbours for their patience.”

The work will be carried out overnight at weekends and on some midweek nights. The piling work inevitably involves some noise, which may cause lineside residents some disturbance. Residents living within 500 metres of the work have been notified via letter.

Currently, an hourly service runs on a single line between Corby and Kettering. The second track on the line between Corby and Kettering was removed in 1986 when traffic decreased with the closure of steelmaking in the town.

About Network Rail

Network Rail owns, manages and develops Britain’s railway – the 20,000 miles of track, 40,000 bridges and viaducts, and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations (the largest of which we also run). In partnership with train operators we help people take more than 1.6bn journeys by rail every year - double the number of 1996 - and move hundreds of millions of tonnes of freight, saving almost 8m lorry journeys. We’re investing ?38bn in the railway by 2019 to deliver more frequent, more reliable, safer services and brighter and better stations.