Cambridge Resignalling

[a good off]

I went through Cambridge on the train recently and it was good to see the investment and work being carried out on the ground with the C3R resignalling project.

However, with the longstanding and well publicised plans to four track the line from Cambridge main station to Shepreth Branch Jn as part of the East West Rail project, why has the track bed of the former Up Goods to Trumpington had signal structures and REBs planted on it? Once the four tracking happens, probably in only a few years time it’ll all have to be moved again. Perhaps someone can explain it to me.

 

[zwk500]

I went through Cambridge on the train recently and it was good to see the investment and work being carried out on the ground with the C3R resignalling project.

However, with the longstanding and well publicised plans to four track the line from Cambridge main station to Shepreth Branch Jn as part of the East West Rail project, why has the track bed of the former Up Goods to Trumpington had signal structures and REBs planted on it? Once the four tracking happens, probably in only a few years time it’ll all have to be moved again. Perhaps someone can explain it to me.

I admire your optimism that it'll only be a few years.

REBs I don't know but I'd imagine that signals themselves need to be placed for the current positions of the lines, and would need to be moved anyway for when the line is actually 4-tracked. Building vast structures that were cantilevered clear of the hypothetical future trackbed probably was a cost that couldn't be justified if there was any chance they'd be in the wrong place for the 4-tracking.