We completed our £190m upgrade of the railway around Crewe in Cheshire this January. The two-year project will mean more reliable and better journeys for you and freight.
A vital and extensive upgrade
Hundreds of freight trains use the West Coast Main Line to move vital goods up and down the country every day. In fact, the West Coast Main Line is one of Europe’s busiest mixed-use passenger and freight railway lines.
That’s why we spent the last two years carrying out major improvements to the Basford Hall independent lines around Crewe station. These independent lines connect the massive Basford Hall freight depot to the West Coast Main Line and also serve as a bypass around Crewe station for freight trains. And this freight junction is used by virtually all freight trains passing through Crewe on the mainline.
The two-year project involved a huge amount of work carried out over several bank holidays. During this time, we:
- installed 65 new signals – the traffic lights of the railway
- upgraded 74 sets of points, which allow trains to change lines
- laid thousands of metres of cable
- replaced track and improved drainage.
The project finished on 2 January when we moved full control of signalling from three traditional signal boxes to the state-of-the-art Manchester Rail Operating Centre.
An updated signalling system
We also worked together with freight operator Freightliner Group to include unique features in the new signalling system. Freightliner is one of the freight operators that uses the junction and the adjoining depot at Crewe.
The new tech allows Freightliner staff on the ground at Crewe to view what our signallers see back in the Manchester Rail Operating Centre in real-time. This will help Freightliner become faster and more efficient when organising its trains to carry good all over the country.
Other freight operators also using this junction will also benefit from this upgrade, with the modern signalling bringing them smoother, safer and more reliable journeys, too.
More reliable journeys
Our upgrade will keep freight moving smoothly in one of the biggest sidings in the country, with thousands of tonnes of goods and building materials passing through each day.
The new signalling system will mean fewer signal-related delays for freight and your trains on the West Coast Main Line. The upgraded technology will make it easier for us to fix any signalling faults when they do occur – helping get you moving again.
Christian Irwin, capital delivery director for the North West and Central region at Network Rail, said: “Signalling switchover was a huge moment for the team who’ve been working for years in the planning and delivery of this major renewal at Crewe, and also for our operational colleagues in Manchester Rail Operating Centre who are now safely signalling trains using the new digital system.
“It’s a testament to all of that hard work that everything went smoothly and freight operators now have a new modern way of working through one of the busiest sidings in the country and signalling on a key section of the West Coast Main Line has been brought up to date for passengers.”
