06.08.18
Southend Victoria line to receive 19km of new overhead wires as part of £46m upgrade
A total of 19km of new overhead wires will be installed over the Southend Victoria branch line in the coming months as part of Network Rail’s £46m upgrade to replace their current overhead wiring system.
Work will begin from 1 September until 28 October on the line between Mountnessing and Wickford, replacing the current wiring system which was built in the 1950s and is the oldest in the country.
The new wiring system will be more reliable, adapt to temperature, and will mean fewer delays for passengers— allowing for Greater Anglia’s new trains to run, and allow for more services to run in the future to meet growing demand on the busy line.
Meliha Duymaz, Network Rail’s route managing director for Anglia, said the line is in “vital need” of upgrading in order to run a reliable service now and in the future.
“The new overhead wiring system will completely transform the line as part of our Railway Upgrade Plan, making journeys more reliable and allowing for new trains and more services to run,” she added.
In order to speed up completion of the programme, week night closures between Wickford and Southend Victoria will continue until 29th November.
Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director said: “We apologise to customers for the disruption this engineering works causes.
“We know people would rather stay on the train for the whole of their journey, but I’d like to reassure passengers that we will have plenty of rail replacement buses and extra staff to make sure that they can complete their journeys.”
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Image credit: Network Rail