Lurgan Track Renewal

With almost 1 million passengers travelling to and from Lurgan Train Station annually, it’s one of the busiest stations on our network.  Around 945,000 cross-border Enterprise passengers also travel through Lurgan every year, making this section of track a key component of the North-South railway corridor.

Representing a substantial investment, upgrade works will see the full-scale replacement of over 1.7km of track in the Lurgan area, running from the William Street level crossing to beyond Bell’s Row level crossing.  This will have an impact on areas between the William Street level crossing and Bell’s Row level crossing, including the Kilwilkie area. We will also be replacing 350 metres of platform at Lurgan Train Station as part of this work.

If you missed our webinar presentation with the project team you could still catch the recording.

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During summer 2019, we successfully completed the Lurgan Area Track Renewal Project, which saw 1.7km of twin track upgraded between the William Street Level Crossing and Bells’ Row Level Crossing.  Following on from the track renewal we carried out follow up works to pack the ballast, which ensured that the track is more durable and will facilitate the removal of temporary speed restrictions, so trains will be travelling through Lurgan at their full line speed. 

However, due to Covid-19 restrictions, we were unable to fully complete this in March as had been previously planned.

Therefore, to fully complete this work, one week of follow-up works is required to complete the planned programme of work. 

• On Thursday 6th August, on the railway line between Lake Street and Bells’ Row, one night of packing the ballast will take place. Engineering trains will operate during the night and whilst there may be some associated noise, we will be working hard to keep this to a minimum. We will also be introducing noise mitigation measures to further reduce any impact on our neighbours.
• From Friday 7th August - Wednesday 12th August, work will take place along the railway corridor from William Street to Bells’ Row to ensure the even distribution of ballast along the track. This will also require the use of engineering trains, but the work will take place along different sections of the railway corridor throughout the period and any associated noise will be kept to a minimum.

This programme of work does not require any road closures at the level crossings and Translink timetabled services will operate as normal.

All work on site will be carried out in compliance with the current Public Health guidance as issued by the Northern Ireland Executive. 

This work is an important first step in a longer-term plan of improvements in the Lurgan area over the coming years, subject to appropriate funding and permissions.

These include:

• Signalling redesign works for level crossings in the area which will reduce waiting times for pedestrians and drivers.
• An enhanced train station development.
• Improved park and ride facilities.

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