Forty year old signalling switched-off across south London by Network Rail
New signalling is now controlling trains across south London following four years of preparation and various line closures last week.
A number of services across Southern, Thameslink and London Overground were halted for the final switch-on covering the Tulse Hill, Peckham Rye and Crystal Palace areas of south London.
According to Network Rail “The new signalling system replaces the old equipment which had controlled the movement of trains in the areas since the early 1980s.
“Engineers installed 23 km of new signalling, power supply, and telecoms cables, 61 new signals, upgraded power supplies and removed the old system for recycling.”
Lucy McAuliffe, Network Rail’s Sussex route director, added: “It’s vital that we continue to invest to modernise our assets and give passengers the delay-free journeys they expect, and I want to thank our teams for the work they’ve carried out as well as passengers whose journeys were affected.
“Signalling upgrades between East Croydon and London Victoria in 2022 saw delays cut by more than half and we’ve delivered this latest phase of signalling upgrades in the Crystal Palace, Tulse Hill and Peckham Rye areas will improve reliability and help contribute to improving the performance of this important stretch of railway.”
Further work is expected in the Lewisham areas soon. The area saw years of work for a separate project in recent years.
