A £55 million investment programme that will completely renew the railway through the centre of Lincoln, has been announced by Network Rail. Starting next spring, the track and signalling through the centre of the city will be renewed, the track layout will be improved, and a new state-of-the-art signalling control centre will be built at West Holmes.

Network Rail Route Director Dyan Crowther said:  “This project represents a major investment in the area, and will give Lincoln a brand new railway fit for the 21st century.  The new track and signalling will benefit passengers with a more reliable service.  Improvements to the track layout and the removal of several speed restrictions will speed trains up and reduce the amount of the time the city’s level crossing barriers need to be lowered.”

Work on the project starts in April 2007.  Several closures of the railway through the city will be necessary in the summers of 2007 and 2008 to allow engineers to install the new track and signalling.  During these periods there will also be some short term level crossing closures.  Network Rail is working closely with train operators, local authorities and other stakeholders to ensure the closures are well planned, and that disruption is kept to an absolute minimum.  

Dyan Crowther added: “We’ve listened carefully to people in Lincoln and the train operators to ensure we are able to carry out this important work with the minimum disruption to passengers, motorists and pedestrians.  For example a lot of the work will take place over the summer during the school and University holidays when there is less traffic on the roads.” 

The new track and signalling will be operational by September 2008, and the project will be completed in early 2009. 

Project Timescales; To minimise disruption, the project will take place in two phases: Phase 1: Preparatory works start in April 2007 including establishing site offices and facilities. In July 2007 the level crossing at Sincil Bank (Great Northern Terrace) will be closed for periods over several weekends as new track is installed through the crossing. August 2007 will see a 3 week closure of the railway through Lincoln while new track equipment and cabling is installed. The work will require some closures of Sincil Bank and Brayford level crossings. Phase 2: In 2008 the railway through Lincoln will be closed for 6 weeks between July and September, subject to agreement with the Train Operating Companies. New signalling, level crossing equipment and track will be installed and fully tested before the line reopens. The work will also necessitate the closure of High Street Level Crossing and other level crossings during some of this period

Network Rail will work closely with Central Trains and Northern Rail to ensure passengers are informed of any timetable alterations. Network Rail will also work closely with Lincolnshire County Council to ensure any temporary diversionary routes for motorists and pedestrians are well publicised and signposted in advance.

The project will renew signalling equipment, track and telecoms infrastructure on the railway in the heart of Lincoln. High Street Level Crossing will be fitted with CCTV control and this together with the other existing CCTV level crossings will be re-controlled from the new Signalling Control Centre at West Holmes. The 4 signal boxes at Pelham Street, High Street, East Holmes and West Holmes will close as signalling in the city will be controlled from the new Signal Control Centre. The new railway will remove speed restrictions (specifically one at Pelham which currently limits trains to 10mph) enabling trains to move through Lincoln quicker, with reduced barrier time at level crossings.

Remodelled track and bi-directional signalling will reduce the amount of shunting needed on the line. This will reduce the time needed for trains to turn around – improving performance for passengers. Less shunting will also reduce the number of times the level crossing barriers are down