Truck and Track Autumn 2022 www.truckandtrack.com 82 RAILFREIGHT Over the August bank holiday weekend, Network Rail completed the once-in-a-generation investment to signals between Prestbury, Macclesfield and Congleton. The £45m project, which started in July 2021, has seen 56 signals upgraded and their control transferred to the state-ofthe-art Manchester Rail Operating Centre. The final switch over from the manually operated Macclesfield Signal Box saw the last lever pulled and train signalled through on 26 August. Signals are crucial for trains to run safely and on time and this work will improve future journeys on one of Europe’s busiest mixed-use passenger and freight rail routes. Ian Robinson, project manager for Network Rail, said: “The newly-completed overhaul of Macclesfield’s signalling system has brought this key section of the West Coast main line up to the most modern standards. The £45m investment will create a more reliable railway for passengers and freight services.” Power sources and electrical cabling were also upgraded, as well as two structures carrying the 25,000-volt overhead lines which power trains, allowing drivers to see some of the new signals more clearly. Gus Dunster, executive director of operations and safety at Avanti West Coast, said: “We’re excited that the upgrades to the signalling system are now complete and would like to thank customers for their patience and understanding while Network Rail carried out these works. Modernising the signals on a key section of our Manchester route is an important milestone for the railway and will help to make journeys on the West Coast main line more reliable for decades to come.” Chris Jackson, regional director for Northern, said: “We welcome the completion of these works and the improvement to reliability they will bring for passengers and freight services on our Manchester Piccadilly to Stoke-on-Trent routes.” Major West Coast main line signalling overhaul complete in Cheshire GB Railfreight (GBRf) has announced the commencement of a new service to move aggregates from Shap Summit Quarry to Battleship Wharf in North Blyth. The aggregates are beingmoved for Breedon andwill be used for the foundations of a BritishVolt gigaplant, which is strategically important to the UK’s automotive industry and a key component in the drive to the UK achieving Net Zero by 2050. GBRf plans to run one train per day until September, then run two trains daily until around March 2023. Class 66 locomotives with 22 MJA wagons will be used for this service, with over 315kt of aggregates being moved over the period of the campaign. John Smith, CEO of GB Railfreight, said: “Rail freight has a vital role to play in supporting the economy and in helping companies transition to a greener way of working. The new service demonstrates how transporting material by rail, instead of by road, significantly reduces the environmental impact of important construction projects.” New service to support UK’s automotive industry by moving 315kt of aggregate by rail TRUCK & TRAILER SOLUTIONS WELCOME TO ALLPORTS GROUP allportsgroup.co.uk
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