Network Rail has made the most of a bonus double header of May public holidays. The agency has a programme of infrastructure works that started over the first weekend in May just past, and will be completed over the coronation public holiday coming up this weekend. While King Charles is being fitted for some royal headgear, Network Rail engineers will be gearing up for a second reign of steel and granite, including major projects on the Great Eastern and West Anglia main lines out of London Liverpool Street, and the Tilbury Loop through southern Essex.

The work will include the construction of a brand new Beaulieu Park station in Chelmsford and the delivery of the major re-signalling renewal program around the Cambridge area. The Cambridge re-signalling (C3R for short) is an almost 200 million pound (about 230 million euro) project to renew the signalling system for the Cambridge area, improving efficiency and reliability for passengers and freight. Also coming down and going up while the king gets his new crown are the overhead wires on the Rainham and Ockendon lines (commuter routes out of London Fenchurch Street). The renewals are to improve the power system’s reliability.

Major renewal programmes

The concentration of works in the east of England has meant the customary round of bus replacements for passengers and diversions and deferments for freight operations. “We have planned to keep most of the railway open for these important weekends”, said Katie Frost, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia. This weekend, engineers will continue preparatory work at the site of the new Cambridge South station, while also delivering the major re-signalling renewal program around the Cambridge area. The overhead wires on the Rainham and Ockendon line will also be renewed on the Tilbury Loop.

“There is engineering work on Sunday 7 May and Monday 8 May”, said Jamie Burles, the managing director for the Greater Anglia. he explained that despite engineering work, the majority of the network will remain open most of the time.“[That will affect traffic] on the Great Eastern Main Line south of Colchester and on the West Anglia route between Cambridge and Ely. The latter is already the subject of the Ely area capacity enhancement proposal to allow more trains to run through Ely, including more freight between the Port of Felixstowe the West Midlands.“Where Network Rail is carrying out projects across the region this May, we would like to thank customers for their patience”, added Burles.

A wide programme of works have been carried out elsewhere, including a whole list of projects on the West Coast Main Line, Europe’s busiest mixed traffic route. The most pertinent site there is Carstairs Junction, where the line diverges to Glasgow or Edinburgh. That extensive programme is due for completion on 4 June.