OREANDA-NEWS. Engineers will start work on the West Coast main line at Oxenholme and on the Windermere branch line at 5.15am on Saturday 28 May and the lines will reopen at midday on Monday 30 May.

The work is being completed as part of a scheme to replace track and improve the layout through Oxenholme station. The essential upgrade will pave the way for more reliable services for passengers in future.

Martin Frobisher, route director at Network Rail, said: “The work at Oxenholme to replace life expired track will improve the track layout in the area, making it easier to maintain. This will lead to more reliable services for passengers in the future.

“There is never an ideal time to close the railway and I appreciate there will be some disruption as a result of this work. Bank holidays are typically much quieter times on the railway and we plan the work to cause the least amount of disruption to the fewest number of people. I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we carry out this investment to provide a better railway.”

Alex Hynes, managing director for Northern Rail, said: “Investment in infrastructure helps contribute to a real improvement in performance and reliability for our customers on this line of route. Our advice to customers is to check before travelling and allow additional time where possible.”

Michelle Ragozzino, Virgin Trains station manager at Oxenholme, said: “Over the bank holiday, some destinations along the West Coast Mainline may be served by fewer trains and some may only be reachable by rail replacement coaches. Due to this and the ongoing improvement works at Oxenholme, parking at the station will be extremely limited, so passengers should definitely check their journey before they travel and leave plenty of time to arrive at the station. We have worked closely with Network Rail to ensure alternative travel arrangements and parking spaces are in place to keep disruption to a minimum whilst this important work is carried out.”

Nationally over 9,000 members of Network Rail’s orange army will be working round-the-clock over the long weekend to deliver vital elements of the company’s Railway Upgrade Plan, which will provide a bigger, better, more reliable railway for passengers and businesses across Britain.

A total of GBP 30m will be invested over three days to renew track, upgrade signalling systems and help boost the capacity of the network so more trains can run in future. The work has been planned to minimise disruption, as passenger numbers typically drop by more than half during a bank holiday. The overwhelming majority of journeys will be unaffected by engineering work.

Improvements at Oxenholme will continue at night times and other times when trains are not running until the end of August.