THE London to Norwich line is set to get a £170m boost in a bit to improve reliability.
The investment package that will see the Great Eastern line connecting London Liverpool Street with east London, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk get improvements to the track, overhead lines and signals.
The work will also include use of a "high output blast cleaning machine" that will scoop up crushed rock on the track, sieve up small pieces of debris and replace it with fresh stone.
Network Rail say that this £42m technology cuts the length of the project from 12 to around two years.
The Great Eastern main line carries around 1,300 passenger trains and 100 freight trains a day.
Richard Schofield, Network Rail route managing director, said: "This essential upgrade is the railway's equivalent of resurfacing a busy road.
"Running a safe, reliable railway depends on the track being in good condition – not just the metal rails, but the foundations on which they sit too.
"We're using one of the most modern pieces of kit on the railway, meaning the majority of our work can be done while trains are running on the adjacent track."
On the Crossrail line work will continue with additional passenger capacity and station refurbishments is also planned.
Brand new trains will replace the existing trains used on services from Shenfield to London from 2017 and in Witham new track and points will be installed.
Network Rail; say the work to upgrade the 60-year-old equipment in the Chelmsford area will be completed by 2015 with the rest of the line up to Ely scheduled to be finished by 2017.
