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Feltham and Wokingham re-signalling programme

Between 2021 and 2024 we upgraded signalling equipment controlled by our Feltham Area Signalling Centre and Wokingham Signal Box to improve reliability. 

State of the art signalling system
A state-of-the-art signalling system was installed between 2021 and 2024

The Feltham Area Signalling Centre and Wokingham Signal Box jointly covers 80 miles of railway and 500 separate pieces of signalling equipment, on key areas of the South Western Railway (SWR) network including Feltham, Hounslow, Shepperton, Twickenham, Windsor & Eton Riverside and Wokingham.

The previous equipment – such as signals, the traffic light system for the railway, and track circuits, which tell signallers where trains are on the network – dated back to 1974 and was becoming harder and harder to maintain.

Over a 5 year period, we renewed that equipment with a modern equivalent that is more reliable. We also delivered a number of enhancements to improve train performance, as well as renewed or upgraded 13 level crossings.

Once all those renewals and upgrades were completed, we then moved control of that equipment from Feltham and Wokingham to Basingstoke and into the Wessex Rail Operating Centre (ROC). 

Digital railway

Our new signalling equipment uses digital technologies, which bring a number of benefits such as increased capacity for trains on the network, fewer delays, enhanced safety and lower costs.

In 2019 the Shepperton branch line, controlled by the Feltham Area Signalling Centre, became the first in the UK to use the Atkins ELIX system.

It’s just one example of how signalling is being transformed for passengers, business and freight operators under the rail industry’s Digital Railway programme

What we did

To install our new signalling equipment, we first had to conduct enabling works such as installing new cabling and signal posts. We then had to commission that equipment, which required the railway to be closed to trains.

All of this work was done over a period of months and on different parts of the network.

The first phase of work, phase zero, was completed in June 2019 with the commissioning of new signalling equipment between Strawberry Hill and Shepperton.

Phase one, in the Strawberry Hill area, was completed in Easter 2021. Phase two, Virginia Water and Ascot, was completed in Easter 2022.

Phases three and four, in the Windsor, Staines, Feltham and Kew Bridge areas, were completed in August 2023.

Finally, phase five, in the Wokingham area, was completed in February 2024

New signals were installed in Ascot in 2022

Contact us

For more information or to get in touch with us, please contact us by visiting our contact us page or by calling our 24-hour national helpline on 03457 11 41 41.

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