Network Rail has announced plans to upgrade hundreds of pieces of railway signalling equipment in the Cambridge area.

The upgrades will take place along 125 miles of track from Meldreth and Elsenham to the south, through Cambridge, up to Ely to the north and Thurston to the east, as well as Croxton level crossing (in Norfolk) on the cross-country line to Norwich.

As part of the project, seven level crossings are set to be upgraded to full barriers with obstacle detection or CCTV technology.

A six week consultation period will run from the 1st of March, giving local residents a chance to comments on the proposals.

Six of the level crossing are in Cambridgeshire and one in Norfolk, they are at

• Meldreth Road
• Milton Fen
• Waterbeach
• Dimmocks Cote
• Six Mile Bottom
• Dullingham
• Croxton (Norfolk)

Any comments received will help with the development of the project before a Transport and Works Act Order is submitted later in 2021.

In addition to the level crossing upgrades, the project will see the relocation of signalling control from signal boxes at Bury St Edmunds, Dullingham and Chippenham to the Cambridge power signal box. Telecommunications and power supplies will be updated for the new signalling to bring everything into a modern computer-based digital system.

Ellie Burrows, Network Rail‘s route director for Anglia said: ‘This is an exciting time for the Cambridge area as we embark on a huge project to renew the signalling systems across a large area of the railway. We’ve been working on the early stages but now would like to ask the public for their views.’

‘We’re really keen to hear from of those who live next to the railway, specifically around the level crossings which we are looking to upgrade. These views will help us to make the best possible decisions and I would encourage everyone in those communities to have your say.’

More information on the project and consultation can be found at the dedicated Network Rail page www.networkrail.co.uk/cambridge-resignalling

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