Network Rail has hailed the successful implementation of a number of rail infrastructure improvements over the recent August bank holiday weekend.

A £47 million package of investment works has been implemented as part of its Railway Upgrade Plan, with a 14,000-strong workforce involved in the improvements.

Key milestones included the re-signalling of the Stafford area of the West Coast Main Line with the installation of 78 signals - a move intended to address a major bottleneck on Europe's busiest mixed-line railway.

Meanwhile, ten km of track in the Bath area was replaced and 11 new switches and crossings installed, in order to prepare for the electrification of the railway.

On the Great Eastern Main Line, engineers installed new track at Ipswich tunnel, while tracks outside London Bridge station cut and moved to the north, and new tracks on the line towards Waterloo East were also installed as part of the Thameslink programme.

Mark Carne, chief executive for Network Rail, said: "With new tracks, signalling and other improvements delivered across the network, passengers will have a more modern and reliable railway."