Service
restored
++


Two
railways
in
southern
England
damaged
by
landslips
have
been
repaired
by
Network
Rail,
and
both
are
set
to
reopen
this
week.
Services
between
Oxford
and
Worcester
have
been
restored
this
morning
after
a
landslip
on
10
February
at
Yarnton
near
Oxford,
which
demolished
a
wing
wall
of
a
bridge
over
the
railway.
Further
landslips
continued
nearby,
and
the
railway
between
Oxford
and
Kingham
had
to
be
closed.
A
more
serious
landslip
near
Hook
in
Surrey
on
14
January
meant
that
two
of
the
four
lines
were
blocked
when
their
foundations
collapsed,
and
services
have
continued
to
be
disrupted.
Network
says
normal
services
should
be
running
again
on
Friday.

Southern
contract
++


Network
Rail
has
chosen
four
partners
for
an
alliance
to
carry
out
the
Southern
Region’s
£9
billion
programme
of
renewals
over
the
next
10
years.
The
companies
named
are
VolkerFitzpatrick,
for
buildings
and
civils,
Octavius
for
electrification
and
plant,
VolkerRail
for
track
and
Atkins
for
signalling.
The
arrangement
will
cover
Control
Period
7,
from
next
year
until
2029,
and
Control
Period
8
from
2029
to
2034.
The
renewals
budget
for
CP7
is
not
yet
decided,
because
Network
Rail
is
still
discussing
the
final
settlement
with
the
rail
regulator.

Pier
strengthened
++


The
line
along
Ryde
pier
on
the
Isle
of
Wight
should
reopen
this
spring,
after
work
to
strengthen
the
686m
Victorian
structure
had
been
delayed
by
winter
weather.
Network
Rail
had
closed
the
pier
in
October
last
year.
The
strengthening
is
part
of
a
wider
programme
of
maintenance
and
improvements
on
the
pier.
South
Western
Railway
will
soon
begin
platform
improvements
at
Ryde
Esplanade
as
well
as
track
maintenance
as
part
of
the
joint
project.