Sleepless nights on the cards for those living by the rail track between Bury St Edmunds and Elmswell

Residents living close to the railway line between Bury St Edmunds and Elmswell are likely to have their sleep disrupted as work is carried out to replace ballast on the track.

Letters have been sent out to people close to the line by Network Rail which has outlined the overnight and weekend work schedule which runs from this coming Saturday through to March 1, next year, and admitted that “some disturbance is unavoidable.”

A half-a-mile-long High Output Ballast Cleaning (HOBC) machine will be used to remove the stone material which the tracks and sleepers sit on and replace it with new ballast.

There will be overnight preparatory and surveying work carried out from this weekend through to Tuesday, June 22, before a rail vacuum machine is bought into operation on Monday, July 26, until Friday, July 30.

Further preparation work will then commence at regular intervals between Monday, August 2, and Friday, December 3, while the vacuum machine will be in use from Monday, September 6, to Friday, September 10, and then again from Monday, October 18, to Friday, October 22.

The HOBC train is due on the track at 3.20am, on Saturday, November 13, until the next morning at 7.50am, then again the following weekend Saturday, November 20, at 10pm, through to the following day at 7.15pm.

The machine will also be in operation at 8am on Saturday, December 4, through to 6.30am on Monday, December 6, and from 12.05am on Saturday, December 11, until 5am, on Monday, December 13.

Follow up work involving track machines will also take place at intervals during the week and at weekends, including Christmas Day and Boxing Day, from Monday, November 22, through the ending of the work on Tuesday, March 1.

Access for workmen will be along the line at regular intervals from Saxham Bridge through to Elmswell level crossing and Network Rail promised to keep residents up to date with any changes to their schedule.

They said: “This sort of work has to take place when trains are not running including during the night and at weekends, in order to maintain the safety of trains, passengers, lineside neighbours and our staff.

“When it (HOBC train) is in operation there will be noise from the machines and associated lights. However, this is a moving work site and will cover around 1,000 metres of track in a night.

“Some disturbance is unavoidable, however, every effort will be made to minimize any unnecessary noise.”

To find out more information about the ballast cleaning activity go to www.networkrail.co.uk/high-output-machines