Rail-net.co.uk

The Plans

 

To meet the expected growth in rail traffic the Welwyn Bottleneck needs to be widened.  Planning for this project started in 1997.  To this end Railtrack and consulting Engineers Ove Arup and Partners came up with the following 10 options.

Option Basic Description
W1 - Resignalling of the entire section
W2 - Opening out of tunnels
W3 - Modifying the station layout with platform loops
W4 - Increasing the viaduct only to four tracks
W5 - Increasing the tunnels only to four tracks
W6 - Adding a third "overflow" track to the route
W7 - Increasing all sections to four tracks
W8 - Adding a "high level" track section to the Viaduct and station
W9 - Building a completely new line totally avoiding Welwyn
W10 - Upgrading the Hertford loop

Each option was carefully considered and it's cost, impact on the existing service structure and discussions with the Environmental Agency and English Heritage were completed option W7 was then decided upon. 

This option was then assessed in even greater detail to give a further three sub options 

The Preferred options page

Once the option had been decided the plans were announced to the general public.  This involved a letter and leaflet mailed to households along the route from Welwyn to Stevenage.  Then a public exhibition was held in Welwyn village for two weeks.

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