The largest ever renewal of signalling equipment carried out by Network Rail is planned for Bristol Temple Meads in the spring.
This will help improve reliability and prepare for a significant increase in rail services and a new post-2018 timetable. Lots of work is already underway:
- Replacing signal heads with LED types;
- Installing new lineside signalling control equipment;
- Installing new signalling power supplies;
- Installing over 50km of new lineside cable route;
- Running out over 252km of new cables;
- Installing new telecoms infrastructure.
Rehearsals of the new signalling have started and will continue over the Christmas period, testing the systems before they are brought into service in April 2018.
The scale of the upgrade next Easter means a full five-day period of engineering works around the clock, between 30 March and 3 April. Trains will be diverted from Bristol Temple Meads and replacement bus services set up. These are currently being planned and further details will be widely publicised in the near future.
