OREANDA-NEWS. Network Rail, as part of its Railway Upgrade Plan, will be working to remove one of the last major bottlenecks on the West Coast main line which will help create capacity for additional passenger and freight services in future between Birmingham and Manchester, London and the north west. It will also improve reliability and journey times.

The railway between Stafford and Crewe will be affected rom start of service on Saturday 28 May until the start of service on Tuesday 31 May.

CrossCountry and Virgin Trains long-distance services are being diverted, adding up to 25 minutes to journey times, and some London Midland services are being replaced with buses during the work.

Martin Frobisher, route managing director at Network Rail, said: “We’d like to thank passengers for their patience as we put the finishing touches to a scheme which will remove one of the last major bottlenecks on the route and improve the reliability of the railway and speed of trains though the area.

“Building this new railway to improve services for passengers is part of our wider Railway Upgrade Plan which will help meet the demands of an increasing number of passengers for many years to come. Our investment also helps the railway support economic growth, job creation and house building around Britain.”

Andy Cooper, managing director of CrossCountry, said: “Completion of these works over the bank holiday will ensure we will be able to take full advantage of the extra capacity the new flyover provides, delivering faster journeys and more reliable services.

“Regrettably these works require our trains to be diverted and we are asking anyone travelling over the bank holiday to check their journey details carefully, as some customers journeys may take slightly longer.”

Phil Bearpark, executive director of operations and projects at Virgin Trains, said: “We have worked closely with Network Rail to keep disruption to a minimum, whilst this important work is carried out. We advise customers to check before they travel and thank them once again for their patience and understanding. The final touches to the work at Stafford will improve the rail network and offer increased reliability in the future.”

Steve Fisher, head of regional services at London Midland, said: “The new track layout at Norton Bridge is all about making passenger journeys easier and simpler through Staffordshire. It will allow local and long distance services to pass through the county more easily, making better journeys for everyone.”

Andy Cooper, managing director of CrossCountry, said: “Completion of these works will ensure we will be able to take full advantage of the extra capacity the new flyover provides, delivering faster journeys and more reliable services.

“Regrettably these works require our trains to be diverted and we are asking anyone travelling over the bank holiday to check their journey details carefully, as some customers journeys may take slightly longer.”

The new section of track and a key flyover opened to trains at Norton Bridge following the Easter bank holiday, allowing trains travelling to Manchester from the south and West Midlands to travel over, rather than across, the existing tracks.

As well as paving the way for more services in future, the Stafford scheme has involved installing more reliable signalling and improvements between Stafford and Crewe to allow trains to travel at faster speeds.

This project has taken four years to complete and has been delivered on budget and 18 months early.

Nationally over 9,000 members of Network Rail’s orange army will be working round-the-clock over the bank holiday weekend to deliver vital elements of the company’s Railway Upgrade Plan. The investment will provide a bigger, better, more reliable railway for passengers and businesses across Britain.

A total of GBP 30m will be invested over three days to renew track, upgrade signalling systems and help boost the capacity of the network so more trains can run in future. The work has been planned to minimise disruption, as passenger numbers typically drop by more than half during a bank holiday. The overwhelming majority of journeys will run as normal.