Next month sees track upgrade work on the busy West Coast mainline in Cheshire in a project to improve journey experience with smoother travel and more reliability for both passengers and freight.

Essential maintenance work is being carried out by Network Rail on the ballast in the Sandbach area. 

Tamper and ballast regulators will be used to redistribute the ballast and give support by creating a firm bed for the sleepers and railway track to be positioned upon. The machines used are specialist trains that run over a section of track and vibrate the stones to force them tightly together to create the all-important firm foundation.

Network Rail will then carry out a profiling treatment which is the grinding away of small layers of metal from part of the railhead or the top surface of the rail which the train’s wheels run over and this is what provides a smoother journey along with keeping the rails in optimum condition.

Work will take place on two Sundays in August and will mean changes to some Avanti West Coast, Northern and Transport for Wales services.

People are being advised to plan their journeys ahead with those travelling between Crewe and Manchester on Sunday the 1st and Sunday the 8th of August 2021 should check www.nationalrail.co.uk before travelling.

Chris Pye, North West infrastructure director for Network Rail, said: “I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we carry out our essential maintenance in the Cheshire area.

“The work will help to keep this important section of the busy West Coast mainline safe and reliable and we’re asking passengers to plan their journeys in advance.”

Gus Dunster, executive director of operations and safety at Avanti West Coast, said: “There’ll be changes to our services between London and Manchester while Network Rail carry out essential improvement works on these dates. We strongly recommend you make a reservation, plan your journey in advance as well as check the National Rail Enquiries website before travelling.”

Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern, said: “This important work at Sandbach will help provide our customers with better, smoother journeys and is part of the industry’s drive to give all rail users a better overall experience.

“There will be some disruption while the work is carried out and I’d like to thank our customers in advance for their understanding and patience.”

Alexia Course, transport operations director for TfW, said: “This is a popular and important route for Transport for Wales, and we fully support Network Rail’s upgrade work to make the line more reliable.

“We would also reinforce the importance of planning ahead and checking for the latest updates before travelling, and would like to thank customers for their patience while this work is taking place.”

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