Network Rail, Greater Anglia, CrossCountry Trains and East Midlands Railway are advising passengers to plan their journeys as the Peterborough to Ely line will be closed for over 30 days.
An incident involving a derailed freight train earlier in 2020 prompted a nationwide inspection of all wheel-timber type bridges, including four bridges at Manea along with the Peterborough to Ely route.
The conclusion of the inspection is 87 pairs of wheel timbers need replacing as soon as possible, with a speed limit of 20mph currently being enforced on the deteriorated section of track.
In order for Network Rail to carry out the repair work, the line will need to be closed on the following dates:
- Sunday the 6th of August
- Saturday 22nd to Sunday the 23rd of August
- Sunday the 6th of September to Sunday the 4th of October
- Sunday the 11th of October
- Saturday 31th October to Sunday the 1st of November
- Sunday the 8th of November
Anyone planning to use the Peterborough to Ely line on these dates are advised to plan their travel. Rail replacement bus services will be running.
Network Rail's Route Director for Anglia Ellie Burrows said: “I know this kind of disruption is incredibly frustrating for our passengers, and I'm sorry that it will impact people's journeys for so long. Running a safe railway is my absolute priority, and so while I know it will be painful for passengers and our freight customers, I believe this is the right decision to get the work done as soon as possible.”
Greater Anglia's Managing Director Jamie Burles said: “Although there's never a good time to carry out engineering work, particularly over this length of time, we understand the need for these urgent and important works. Running a safe, reliable railway is our first priority, so these remedial actions are necessary to prevent more disruptive works at a later date.
A rail replacement bus service will run while the work takes place, to ensure customers can complete their journeys. Full timetables will be uploaded to our website soon. We would urge customers to plan their journeys in advance as they are likely to take significantly longer than usual.
We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank customers for their patience and understanding.”
CrossCountry's Regional Director for East Midlands & East Anglia Richard Morris said: “We know long periods of engineering work can be an inconvenience, and have worked closely with Network Rail to minimise the impact on our customers as much as possible. We are sorry if anyone's journeys are affected by this, but when complete this work will ensure the continued safe and reliable operation of our services through Manea for many years to come.”
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Would Network Rail upgrade the Kennett-Ely branch line to double track and to build a new railway station at Soham with 2 new platforms. To allow freight trains use the upgraded line to/from Port of Felixstowe and Greater Anglia local regional trains to run as normal. With Greater Anglia using the Class 755 Bi-mode Flirts.
Knock-on effects well beyond passenger travel; Felixstowe Frieghtliner traffic will now have to run via Stratford and the North London line, together with other frieght during the longer blockade.
So there will be weekend rail replacements at weekends that has been mentioned. With passengers commuting to & from the Midlands.
Yes Andrew weekend replacements are normally at weekends!
Thanks Richard
I assume they mean 9th August as the 6th is a Thursday?