12.04.12
Stalybridge upgrade begins
Work has started on a major revamp of railway track and signalling in and around Stalybridge station. This includes alterations to the platforms, the coffee shop and other passenger facilities.
The £20m project is to upgrade the existing infrastructure, which is nearing the end of its operational life, in order to meet the future needs of the line, including electrification.
The signalling system will be replaced, allowing train speeds to be increased from 40 to 50mph and control will transfer to the Manchester East signalling centre in Edgeley. A new bay platform will be built and platform 2 will be widened and extended.
Other improvements include new waiting shelters, CCTV, a station announcements system and passenger information screens. Once the platform work is complete an Access for All scheme will link them with lifts in order to provide step-free access.
Jo Kaye, Network Rail’s route managing director, explained: “The current track layout, particularly the junctions at either end of the station, has remained largely unchanged since the end of the First World War.
“The new layout will give us greater operational flexibility and will be more reliable. So far as passengers are concerned, that means better train services now, with the prospect of faster and more frequent services in the future.”
Work will continue every weekend until November, except for the period of the Olympic Games, when all major disruptive railway work is suspended.
The new signalling system will be commissioned and brought into use in early November. To relay the junction and carry out the necessary safety tests on the new equipment, there will be no train services from Stalybridge station for nine days over the last week of October and first week of November.
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