RESIDENTS have been warned to expect a year of overnight engineering work along the railway in Swindon beginning this week as the troubled electrification project rumbles its way through Swindon.

Network Rail has written to homeowners across the town advising them of the year-long programme of engineering to install the overhead electric equipment needed to run the new high-speed intercity trains due on the Great Western network.

The warning comes following a second weekend of closures at Roman Road bridge in Stratton, where the track was being lowered to accommodate the new overhead wires underneath the listed bridge. As a result Ermin Street was closed over the course of the weekend, following an earlier closure at the end of May.

Now Network Rail’s community relations executive, Sarah Newman, has written to residents across the town advising them to expect potentially “disruptive” overnight works alongside the railway over the next 12 months.

She said: “We still have foundation works to complete along with vegetation clearance since our last clearance over two years ago.

“We are installing foundations every 40 to 60m to support the electrification equipment in your area.

“Foundation installation by nature is a noisy activity however it does depend on the distance from the piling location. We will also be installing steel masts and wiring on top of the installed foundations. There will be deliveries and plant movements along the track with illumination of site for night time working. We do make every effort to minimise any unnecessary or avoidable noise.

“Work will be undertaken from June 15, 2017, to June 15, 2018.

“However, it is worth noting that we may not be working every single night during this period and therefore this is a general outlook to the period mentioned above.

“Please also note that this work is of a transient nature and will be undertaken over a 7.5 mile stretch of track so we will not be repeatedly working in the same location.”

When engineers are on site, they will be working between 9.30pm and 5.30am on weeknights; 11.30pm on Saturdays until 8.30am on Sundays and from 9.30pm on Sundays until 4.30am on Mondays.

Earlier this year the project was slammed by MPs for running behind schedule and over budget, with doubt cast on whether the line could be fully electrified from London to Cardiff by December 2018 and within the £2.8bn budget.

Meg Hillier MP, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee said: “This is a stark example of how not to run a major project, from flawed planning at the earliest stage to weak accountability and what remain serious questions about the reasons for embarking on the work in the first place.

“The sums of public money wasted are appalling - not least the £330m additional costs the Department for Transport will have to pay to keep the trains running because of delays to electrification.”

Updates on where Network Rail will be working within the Swindon area can be found at www.networkrail.co.uk/great-western-route-modernisation/Wiltshire