The Minister for Community, Culture and Leisure, Hon Graham Cregeen MHK, will seek Tynwald approval this month to spend ?678,000 to make essential improvements to Laxey Station track.
The investment will enable the renewal of the ballast, sleepers, points and rails within Manx Electric Railway infrastructure at Laxey.
The work, planned to be carried out this winter, is the final of three phases of improvements at Laxey totalling ?1.17million, which will have been undertaken over three years. The first phase included reconstructing part of the viaduct while the second phase enabled a replacement electricity substation to be built.
Minister Cregeen commented: ‘These works are essential to ensure the MER can continue to operate safely. It is a necessary investment to improve standards and ensure that we maintain the railway for future generations.
’The wooden sleepers required will be purchased from local sawmills but there needs to be some off-Island expenditure to obtain specialist raw materials including rail. However, appointing an Isle of Man contractor will ensure a high proportion of local labour will be employed in carrying out the scheme.’
If approved, the works will commence in November 2013 and they are scheduled to be completed by March 2014.
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