Two days to go!

It is now only two days until the new chord is commissioned and all was quiet today when I made a brief visit.  This suggests that everything is ready or I am sure that there would be last minute activity.  The new line will be brought into service overnight Sunday evening/Monday morning.  Hopefully I will be able to report on the first trains to use it but these have not been confirmed yet.  All week there has been considerable activity over by Hitchin North Junction with the continuous sounding of train horns has they passed by the workforce.   The following picture shows some of the noticeable changes since my last visit.

The guard railing has been completed and some new signs installed.

 A closer look reveals an interesting sign that gives quite a bit of information about the five tracks.  The new one is described as Cambridge Flyover.   It tells us that we are 32 miles and 1320yds from Kings Cross.  The cant and gradient information relate to the ECML.  The gradient of the new line is 1:86 as it moves onto the viaduct.  There is also a limited clearance sign on the end of the edge wall.

Here you can see the new signal in the centre of the picture, one of only two on the chord.  The other protects Hitchin East Junction.

 The next three were taken yesterday.  A glorious display of poppies is in bloom all around the new embankment.  A 55mph speed sign has gone up recently.  This means that drivers can really "put their foot down" after the 50mph restriction!  There is also a 004 sign to the right which is a bridge plate for the drainage culvert that passes under the embankment..

Work was still continuing of the landscaping of the quarry.

Quite a few orange clad workers were in evidence.  Maybe Railway Inspectorate officers signing off the new line or last minute checks by Network Rail.?  I am confident that the next report will be on Monday reporting the successful commissioning of the chord.