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Monday 4 Jan 2010

BRIDGE SLIDE AT LANDMARK BLACKFRIARS PROJECT MARKS KEY MILESTONE IN NETWORK RAIL’S THAMESLINK PROGRAMME

Region & Route:

| Southern

The successful installation of a 350-tonne, 22-metre, concrete and steel section of bridge on the landmark Blackfriars station redevelopment over Christmas has marked a significant milestone in Network Rail’s £5.5bn Thameslink programme.

The new section of bridge was specially designed and built on six metre high trestles towers in a site compound to the east of the site, to keep the station open for as long as possible and to minimise impact on passengers. The strengthened bridge will now enable Network Rail to move the tracks from the west to the east side of the station for its future and revised track alignment, providing quicker and smoother journeys for passengers when the work in that area is completed and brought into use in late 2010.  Further improvements at Blackfriars, as part of the Thameslink programme, will also improve services for passengers by enabling significantly more passengers to travel to and through the capital by late 2011.

Taking 101 hours to complete by a team of 50, the precision engineering activity was meticulously planned. The total value of investment by Network Rail in the railway over the holiday period was nearly £100m, with £10m spent on Thameslink alone.

The main work at Blackfriars saw the existing, old bridge section carefully deconstructed and removed from its position between platform four and five at the north of the station by an 800-tonne mobile crane. Two hydraulic rams then slid into place the new section of bridge from the east side site compound.

Before the bridge slide could take place, Network Rail engineers needed to conduct important enabling work. This involved disconnecting the signalling, temporarily shifting communications cables running under the rail bridge from the west to the east, and removing track and ballast. All these elements were then reinstated and reconnected when the bridge slide was completed.

Lindsay Vamplew, Network Rail project director for Blackfriars, comments: “Sliding this 350-tonne bridge into place is a critical part of turning Blackfriars into a landmark of which London can be proud of.  This is an important milestone in the life of not just this project, but Network Rail’s Thameslink programme. Not only was the work highly complicated, but it was very challenging given the location and conditions.

“This project is important for the future vitality of London. We are pleased by the progress achieved and I would like to thank the dedicated team who worked long hours throughout the festive period to get the job done.”