East Coast Main Line Power Supply Upgrade

To facilitate these improvements, the project is being completed in two phases:

• Phase 1 – covering the route between Wood Green, London to Bawtry near Doncaster
• Phase 2 – covering the route between Doncaster to Edinburgh

Phase 1

Phase 1 of the project began in 2014 and was completed by early 2020, and saw the REAL alliance:

• install 23 substations along the route
• lay 600km of new cabling
• construct foundations and structures to support overhead line equipment
• install new 400kv connection to the main National Grid

Further upgrades to increase resilience and reliability along the route were also undertaken, including additional sub-stations, track based cabinets and feeder stations.

Phase 2

Phase 2 began in 2021, and involves the installation of feeder and substations along the route, capacity upgrades, new 132kv connection at Hambleton junction and upgrades to existing power supply connections.

By the end of 2024 the REAL alliance will have:

• Installed 27 new traction substations
• Instaled 1000km new cabling including feeder cables and telecoms cabling
• Constructed supporting foundations and structures for substations and to support overhead line equipment
• Introduction two New Static Frequency Converter Compounds at 132kV supply connection points

the Rail Electrification (REAL) Alliance

Both phases of the project are being delivered by the Rail Electrification (REAL) Alliance which compromises of:

• Network Rail
• Siemens – traction power design, supply, installation and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition)
• J Murphy and Sons – civil works and structures, cable and cable routes
• VolkerRail – overhead line equipment works and signalling works
• TSP Projects – professional consultancy and design support
• Jacobs – professional consultancy and design support