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Lee Valley Rail Programme

Lee Valley
Written by Roma Publications

Lee Valley Rail Programme

Work to carry out approximately £170m of rail improvements across the Upper Lee Valley is heading into its final phases as almost 2 years of work comes to a successful conclusion.

A major part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan, the Lee Valley Rail Programme is expected to be completed in May 2019. At the heart of the project is the addition of 5.5km of new track that will enable an extra two trains run per house at peak times between Stratford and the new Meridian Water station.

Meridian Water is located in the London Borough of Enfield and will support the regeneration of a vast industrial area into 10,000 new homes and nearly 7000 new jobs. The new station will provide better connections to Stratford and London Liverpool Street, and north to Stansted and Cambridge. At its peak, up to 4 million people a year are expected to use the station, equivalent to three times the population of Birmingham.

The sleek and innovative station design, created by Karakusevic Carson Architects, makes a bold statement and reflects the areas rich industrial past while simultaneously giving a nod to its bright future.

This new station has been designed to provide better accessibility across the railway for the public with stairs and lifts providing step-free access to either side of the rail corridor. The enclosed concourse will provide shelter underneath a high quality ceiling featuring a bespoke golden panel design to give passengers a positive experience when using the station. Access to the platforms will be provided by steps and lifts.

The extra capacity being delivered by the new track will allow two additional trains per hour in each direction to operate between Stratford and Meridian Water, reducing congestion and journey times for passengers. The additional services are expected to start in the autumn.

Furthermore, work is also being carried out at Northumberland Park and Tottenham Hale station as part of the Lee Valley Rail Programme.

Northumberland Park will benefit from a new platform served by the third track. An accessible footbridge with ramps has also been constructed and opened to facilitate a safe place for passengers to wait for their trains particularly during event days at the nearby stadium on White Hart Lane. The ramps provide an accessible route across the railway for wheelchair users, bicycles and buggies while a lift will be available to serve the new island platform.

Tottenham Hale station is a busy interchange between the main line services and the Victoria Line. For that reason, we are building a new accessible footbridge with stairs, lifts and an escalator to ease congestion and provide better passenger flow around the station. A new platform has also been constructed and will serve the additional services using the new track.

Meliha Duymaz, Network Rail’s route managing director for Anglia, said:

“The delivery of the Lee Valley Rail Programme continues to move forward with the culmination of years of hard work expected to be completed in May 2019 followed by a phased roll out of services using the new infrastructure in the autumn.

“This programme is a prime example of how the rail industry can work together with its partners to fund and deliver upgrades that will benefit passengers and improve their travelling experience for years to come.”

Jamie Burles, Managing Director for Greater Anglia, said: “We’re confident that these major improvements to the railway in the Lea Valley area will bring huge benefits to our customers, both in terms of accessibility, ease of travel for everyone, and punctuality. This is a very busy part of our network, which we and Network Rail are transforming. I can’t wait to see one of our brand-new trains in the fantastic-looking new station along this route.”

Ahead of its exicting conclusion, more information about the Lee Valley Rail Programme can be found at www.networkrail.co.uk.

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Roma Publications