The Durham Coast Line is now benefitting from new signalling following a £28 million scheme that has modernised the 25km section between Stranton in Hartlepool and Ryhope Grange. Five signal boxes have been decommissioned as part of the project, with control being transferred to a Westcad workstation at Ryhope. Hall Deane and Church Street level crossings have been renewed with a CCTV system.
The area is a notorious cable theft hot spot so Network Rail has adopted anti-theft measures to make the system’s new cables harder to steal and easier to trace.
The project has been completed on time and on budget in just 18 months and has had minimal impact on train services. Most of the 160,000 man hours of work were carried out during ‘Rules of the Route’ possessions.
