Thousands of metres of new track and drainage laid in four-week closure. Platform lengthening and signal renewals carried out.

Normal services are operating across the District and Circle lines this morning following the successful completion of four weeks of upgrade works between High Street and Edgware Road.

The block closure from 23 to 23 between the two stations, one of the oldest sections of the network, has enabled key upgrade works to take place.

The works have improved track and equipment and will improve reliability, and have been completed in four weeks rather than six months of weekend works.

Track and drainage renewals will also help to protect track circuits from flooding thereby helping to cut down on the number of signal failures.

Two thousand metres of new drainage has been laid down to replace an old system from the 1850s while approximately 3.5km of track from the 1940s has been replaced.

This has involved around 7.5km of new rail.

Specially adapted engineering trains were used to make nearly 400 trips to bring old earth out and bring equipment and new materials in including:

  • Bulldozers and cranes which were used to remove 16,000 tonnes of spoil in order to take the track down to its base level
  • A total of 25,000 tonnes of sand and new stone ballast
  • Around 5,000 new sleepers

Over the last 100 years the old railway in the area has seen little upgrade work but during the last four weeks it has been stripped back and rebuilt so it will last for decades to come.

via TFL Press Release