The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Drivers, residents and business owners can learn more about how a £280million rail improvement project will affect them.
Network Rail is holding two sessions, one in Spalding and another in Gosberton, to share information about its project to upgrade the line and relieve some of the pressure on the East Coast Main Line.
The project will see the closure of level crossings at the town centre’s Winsover crossing, Hawthorn Bank, Park Road and Woolram Wygate, and roads for periods of up to two weeks at a time.
Work is due to start next month.
Network Rail has vowed to do its best to limit the impact but some have voiced serious concerns about gridlock around the town centre as it is effectively cut in half by crossing closures.
There is also concern about the effect closures will have on emergency vehicles racing to the scene of 999 calls.
The first session will be on Saturday from 10am to 2pm at Gosberton Church Hall, Westhorpe Road, and the second at the Red Lion Quarter, Red Lion Street, on Tuesday from 10am to 2pm.
They are being billed as community drop-ins, where members of the public can go along to find out more about the improvements to the Great Northern Great Eastern line, which runs between Peterborough and Doncaster, via Lincoln.
A spokesman said: “Our rail network is being used by unprecedented numbers of trains and the demand for more passenger and freight services continues to rise, particularly on arterial routes such as the East Coast Main Line.
“To deliver more services and faster journey times, we are improving the efficiency and flexibility of the railway between Peterborough and Doncaster with a series of renewal works.
“The works will improve safety, increase capacity and bring better performance and reliability.
“It will reduce the need for heavy maintenance over a 15 year period and will increase capacity on the busy East Coast Main Line.”
The project will see improvements at 61 level crossings and renewal or refurbishment of 57 bridges.
More than 80 miles of new track will also be laid, meaning train speeds will be increased to between 60 and 75mph.
Signalling will also be upgraded.
The first section of work will cover the area from Park Road level crossing in Spalding up to Metheringham station and is due for commissioning from 9.30pm on July 25, through to 6am on Monday, August 11.
