Media centre

Thursday 9 Feb 2006

A RAIL BRIDGE OVER TAME WATER

Region & Route:

A major feat of engineering will take place next weekend near Tamworth when a major railway bridge is lifted into place over the River Tame in Comberford . The rail bridge is part of the Trent Valley 4 Tracking (TV4) project, a key element of the £8bn upgrade of the West Coast Main Line. The TV4 project is adding two additional tracks between Tamworth and Armitage with Handsacre, which when completed will increase capacity and provide a more reliable service for passengers travelling between London, the Midlands, the North West and Scotland. The existing two track railway will be diverted on to the new bridge, after which the existing bridge will be replaced by a second new bridge, on to which the additional two tracks will be built. Keith Riley, Network Rail Senior Programme Manager, said: “This is a further significant milestone for the project to expand the railway in the Trent Valley area. The River Tame part of the project was amongst the first work we carried out back in May 2005, and the installation of this new bridge shows the progress that has been made. It is a major step forward .” A 1000 tonne capacity crane will lift and place into position the various parts of the bridge. The bridge will consist of three spans making up a bridge of length 92 metres and 12 metres wide. There will be an opportunity for photographs / filming at Comberford, Tamworth on the 18th February between 8am and 12pm. Please contact Network Rail for details.