On Friday, 3rd January, control of rail traffic through one of Britain’s busiest railway junctions, at Crewe in Cheshire, was transferred to a state-of-the-art Rail Operating Centre in Manchester.
In a £190m investment, Network Rail had made improvements to the track, lineside equipment, and digital signalling at Basford Hall freight depot at Crewe and the lines that connect it to the West Coast main line.
At Basford Hall, freight trains are diverted onto lines that keep freight traffic away from Crewe station.
Basford Hall is also one of Freightliner’s major hubs, where freight trains to London are joined and freight trains going north are split.
Overall, the work took three years, in which traditional signal boxes at Salop Goods, Basford Hall Junction, Crewe Sorting Sidings North were decommissioned and replaced by the latest digital technology already controlling trains across much of the North West.
The work disrupted train services for ten days, which required rail-replacement bus services to be brought in, and included:
- Installing 65 new LED signals and six new structures to display them for drivers.
- Installing 24km of new signalling power cables.
- Installing 30km of fibre optic cables.
- Constructing seven new buildings to house control systems.
- Renewing 5 km of railway drainage.
- Upgrading 74 sets of points, including fitting heaters to prevent them from freezing in cold weather.
Working alongside Network Rail were Siemens, responsible for the signalling, associated civil and electrical works, planning, and telecommunications, and Central Rail Systems Alliance, which carried out the track upgrade work, drainage renewal and overhead line modifications.
The reopening of the lines took place in four stages before all lines returned to normal service on 3rd January.
While the work was ongoing, Network Rail used the car park at Crewe Alexandra Football Club as a base for the rail-replacement bus services.
“Today is the start of a new era for the way we signal freight and passenger trains through Crewe – one of the busiest junctions on Britain’s railway. This major investment, using the latest technology, benefits both passengers and freight, getting people and goods to where they need to be more smoothly and reliably.
Christian Irwin, Network Rail’s North West and Central region Capital Delivery director
“We know that over Christmas this has caused disruption for passengers and we’d like to thank you for bearing with us while we made these crucial Crewe upgrades which will improve future journeys for years to come.”
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