Network Rail is recommending passengers travelling on the Abbey Line between Watford Junction and St. Albans to plan their journey in advance due to safety speed restrictions, from Monday 28th June 2021.
Trains have been slowed down on the line due to track conditions following cancelled maintenance work planned in January 2021, the work was brought to a standstill due to a further national Covid-19 lockdown.
The work was intended to make the steel rails able to handle periods of hot weather better and with temperatures now reaching summer peaks some sections of the steel rails may mis-align or in extreme circumstances buckle due to high temperatures. The reduction in speed will put less stress on the rails and prevent such issues.
There is also an issue with the ballast which also requires speed restrictions on the Abbey Line. The weight of frequent trains usually compacts the ballast beneath the tracks but as there have been very few services running along the line due to the pandemic, some stones have loosened and could displace if a train were to run too quickly over them.
Both issues have meant changes to the timetable will be put into place from Monday 28th June so that the speed restrictions can be accounted for, and London Northwestern Railway passengers can rely on accurate train times. Network Rail is working to raise Abbey Line line speeds, but it is expected that the restrictions will be in place right through the summer.
Passengers travelling on the Abbey Line are advised to plan their journey ahead at www.nationalrail.co.uk
James Dean, Network Rail's West Coast South route director, said: “We're sorry to passengers facing longer journey times on the Abbey line between Watford Junction and St Albans because of necessary speed restrictions.
“A combination of the hot weather and condition of the track foundation stone means trains must run more slowly for safety reasons. I'd urge Abbey line passengers to check National Rail Enquiries for revised train times while we work as fast as we can to get the line back up to speed.”
Lawrence Bowman, customer experience director for London Northwestern Railway, said: “We are sorry that we are having to make changes to journey times between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey. As trains have to go slower, there will be fewer services. Some bus replacement services will run during parts of the day when we can't run trains. Bus replacements will be kept to a minimum. So the advice is to check before you travel”
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