NETWORK RAIL has revealed that it is to spend £350 million on renewing signalling systems on the Great Western Main Line, giving the route a capacity boost and accelerating the move towards regional control. The company said the work could also reduce delays by up to half, because ageing signalling is currently being blamed for up to 25,000 delay minutes annually, and that the upgrade will prepare the route for its imminent electrification.

The work will be carried out in five stages, and will start this year between Swindon, Didcot and Oxford, with Invensys as the main contractor.

The largest part of the work, worth £150 million, will be carried out between Bath, Bristol and Parson Street in 2015. Demand on local lines around Bristol is expected to rise by 44 per cent in the next decade. This part of the scheme will also take into account a separate proposal to upgrade the track on the approaches to Bristol Temple Meads, again to increase capacity.

A further £50m will be invested in 2014 between Gloucester/Swindon/Chippenham, complementing the recently-approved plan to redouble the line between Swindon and Kemble.

Another £20 million has been allocated to upgrading signalling between Newbury and Reading in 2015, and this is again associated with track upgrades. The immediate Oxford area will also be dealt with then.

The project will include the replacement of local signalling panels, which date from the 1960s, with regional control from the new centre at Didcot. Older lineside equipment will also be replaced. Because the route is about to be electrified, signal gantries will be removed where this is possible, and replaced with lineside masts.

Patrick Hallgate, route managing director for Network Rail Western said: “We are safeguarding the long-term future of a vital rail artery in the South West of England and Thames Valley. The Great Western main line is running out of room with nearly 30m journeys and a growth rate of at least 5% each year. A robust and modernised signalling infrastructure is vital to cope with this burgeoning growth.

“In a few years’ time the signalling infrastructure will be considered life-expired, but we are ahead of the game by starting the improvements now. This programme is a vital building block for the transformation of Great Western, boosting performance, paving the way for electrification and supports major enhancement plans in Bristol, Swindon, Oxford, Reading and Newbury.”