People and businesses across Greater Lincolnshire will benefit from almost £100m of investment in the region’s railway this Christmas as part of Network Rail’s railway upgrade plan.

Towns in North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire and parts of Lincolnshire – as well as the busy Port of Immingham, where a quarter of the UK’s railfreight enters the country – are set to benefit from one of the region’s biggest railway upgrade plans that will provide a more reliable railway for passengers and help boost economic growth.

The investment programme will see the railway brought up to the most modern standards, creating greater reliability for existing passenger and freight services as well as increasing the capacity limits of the railway, which creates the potential for more trains to run in the future.

Network Rail will replace 100-year old signalling along 60 miles of track, upgrade 16 level crossings, build two new bridges and complete vital inspection work on dozens more, as well as carry out important maintenance work across the region during a carefully planned 17-day closure of parts of the network.

The first five days of the full project, which begins on Christmas Eve, will focus on Immingham where for five days the rail operation will close down so the upgrade can take place. Cargo ships with rail-bound containers will enter the UK through neighbouring ports, including Hull, until the railway serving Immingham reopens on 30th December. The port will remain open for shipping movements and all other operations during the upgrade period.

For train passengers, buses or taxis will replace trains throughout the duration of the work, although not all routes will be closed for the full 17-day duration. Passengers are urged to check before they travel between Scunthorpe and Cleethorpes, Lincoln Central, Gainsborough Central and Barton-Upon-Humber between 24th December 2015 and 11th January 2016.

A list of road closures to allow the work on level crossings and bridges to take place can be found on Network Rail’s website.

Ursula Lidbetter MBE, Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said:  “We welcome the much needed upgrading of rail infrastructure between Scunthorpe and Cleethorpes, especially around Immingham, which is one of the UK's busiest ports.  Network Rail’s £96.5 million investment in Greater Lincolnshire, alongside other investments by both the public and private sector, will further stimulate growth and bring wider economic benefits to the area, resulting in increasing exports and jobs growth.”