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RAILTRACK SPENDS £2 MILLION ON
TREK RENEWAL SCHEME
Railtrack North West is to spend £2m renewing
trek in the Kirkdale area of Merseyrail next month. Work will start on Saturday 12 October and last for nine days, affecting services on the Ormskirk and Kirkby lines.
The scheme consists of relaying four portions of track between Walton junction and Kirkdale south junction. During the work a total of 2629 yards (2404 metres) of jointed track will be replaced by continuously welded rails laid on either hardwood timber or concrete sleepers and set in new ballast.
This will ensure the life of the trek for years to come and has benefits for passengers and the rail industry alike. Railtrack zone director Tim Clarke explained:-
"It's our responsibility to provide a safe, reliable railway and by laying continuous rather than jointed track, we can do just that because the new
trek will be less susceptible to defects such as broken rails. It provides a smoother and quieter ride for train passengers and the familiar clickerty-clack of wheels on track is set to become a thing of the past. There will also be less wear and tear on the trains themselves."
Arriva Trains Merseyside will be running buses between Sandhills and Aintree (on the Ormskirk line) and Sandhills to Kirkby throughout the nine-day closure. Some buses will run non-stop; others will call at all stations. Additional trains between Sandhills and Liverpool Central have also been arranged and overall journey times are expected to be extended by up to thirty minutes. Passengers changing onto First North Western services at Ormskirk and Kirkby are advised to check their connections because of the additional journey time.
Arriva Trains Merseyside will also be arranging for additional staff to be available at affected stations to help passengers with the replacement bus services and both information and timetable posters will be displayed at stations.
Temporary timetables containing full details of the revised schedules will be available at stations, Merseytravel travel centres and via the brochure hotline on 0151 330 1066. Passengers can also ring Traveline Merseyside on 0151 236 7676, Arriva Trains Merseyside customer relations on 07004 277482 or National Rail Enquires on 08457 484950 for more details.
The Southport line train service is not affected.
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