Infrastructure News
A SERIES of weekend blockades in November have seen Network Rail begin work to improve track, signalling and drainage inside tunnels on the Brighton main line.
Closures between Three Bridges and Brighton were set to allow work to Clayton tunnel, along with installation of new signals between Patcham and Preston Park and the replacement of electrical circuits between Three Bridges and Balcombe.
NR said in early November that it had already renewed 2.7 miles of conductor rail, 532 yards of track and 15 signal heads as well as replacing thousands of tonnes of ballast.
The work on the Brighton main line is part of a £300 million programme to improve the reliability of key routes in the south east and follows recommendations made in Chris Gibb’s report on the Govia Thameslink Railway franchise. NR had originally planned a nine-day closure in late October but opted to postpone this and defer some work into Control Period 6. A nine-day closure between 16 and 24 February next year is set to go ahead as planned, alongside a series of weekend blockades.
