Express & Star

Chase Line work completed on time

Work to push forward a vital railway upgrade has taken 'a massive step forward', bringing an end to the misery of thousands of commuters a step closer.

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Chase line electrification - Walsall work

The railway between Rugeley Trent Valley and Walsall reopened today after 16 days of work to upgrade the Chase line was completed on time.

During the closure, work was carried out by Network Rail to replace and realign sections of the track between the two locations, as well as to install stanchions and gantries ahead of overhead lines which will enable the electrification of the route being installed next year.

Once electrification work is complete, passengers can expect to benefit from a faster and more reliable railway between Birmingham and Rugeley, with more frequent services, from next December.

The line will also be more economically friendly.

An increasing number of passengers use the Chase line each year and these improvements had been called for to accommodate this and future growth.

Amanda Milling, MP for Cannock Chase, welcomed the completion of the latest round of works and insisted passengers who were concerned about the 16 day closure will benefit when the work is done.

She said: "I completely understand that passengers were very concerned about the disruption on the Chase Line but they will enjoy a much better service once the electrification is complete.

"The electrification of the Chase Line will see faster and more frequent trains which mean there are hundreds more seats, bringing an end to the misery passengers have faced over the last few years."

Overhead wires are currently only installed as far as Walsall which means London Midland currently runs diesel trains from Birmingham to Rugeley Trent Valley.

Once the electrification work on the Chase line is complete, electric trains will be able to run along the whole of the line from Birmingham New Street to Rugeley Trent Valley.

London Midland's head of route, Rob Hornsey said "I'd like to thank our passengers for all their patience and understanding over the last two weeks.

"While there is still more to do, this work means the plans to double the Chase Line services next May and bring in quieter electric trains with capacity to carry more people, in December 2018, have taken a massive step forward."

Martin Tiller, Network Rail’s project sponsor, said: “I would like to thank passengers and local residents for their patience during this work.

"This forms part of our Railway Upgrade Plan and will mean passengers travelling between Rugeley and Birmingham via Walsall will have a better, more reliable railway.

“The completed work already delivers speed improvements on the line and by the end of 2018 quieter, greener electric trains with more seats will be able to run along the whole route.”