Network Rail investing in 25,000 volt overhead electric lines in Lancashire and Cumbria

ongoing

Passenger and freight journeys are being made more reliable in Lancashire and Cumbria with a multi-million-pound investment into the overhead 25,000 volt electric cables which power trains. The £3.4m Great North Rail Project upgrade will make overhead line equipment (OLE) more resilient on the West Coast main line between Preston and Carlisle. Specialist engineers will deliver 60 projects to improve the overhead lines over most weekends between now and March next year. The jobs include thousands of component replacements undertaken overnight while trains aren’t running to minimise disruption to passengers. A new generation of engineers will also be trained on how to operate and repair the overhead line equipment. This will secure the long-term expertise of Network Rail’s West Coast main line maintenance teams. The project has been carefully planned to take place when trains aren’t running. This will prevent disruption to passenger and freight journeys on one of Europe’s busiest mixed-used passenger and freight railway routes.