Moderator note: Split from
I had thought that speed restrictions at track renewal sites were a thing of the past, with modern tamping and packing methodology. I'm sure I have travelled over many sites at line speed very soon after relaying. I must be mistaken...
Handing back the railway to your services at a higher speed is a top priority for our engineers. We’ve made greater...
www.networkrail.co.uk
The above article suggests that handback speeds are higher, but not necessarily eliminated entirely.
I haven’t read the article, but I guess it says that higher speed handbacks are enabled by using a Dynamic Track Stabiliser - DTS - (which has been around 40 years) and welding up the joints before handback.
Thing is, the DTS can’t be used in lots of places, and it also puts time into the weekend schedule which may not be available for the site. Similarly, stressing and welding up the strings of rail also takes time that may not be available. It also usually costs more. For context a 50mph restriction on a 90mph line for a typical renewals site will cost less than a minute, and less than that still if it is within the braking / acceleration areas of a station. Essentially there is no point in using the DTS and welding up for any linespeed of 75mph or under - it just costs more for minimal benefit.
Where it is useful is on lines with speeds over 100mph.
So, there are plenty of renewal sites with speed restrictions on post work, but usually only for a week.
