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Thursday 5 Oct 2017

Bristol residents invited to information events as next phase of railway upgrade work set to commence

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

Residents of Bristol have been invited to attend public drop-in events in the coming weeks to find out more about upcoming work to deliver the next phase of the Filton Bank Four Tracking project, which will enable an increase in train services and reduce disruption from maintenance.

Stapleton Road

Following the successful demolition of the Stapleton Road viaduct this summer, further work to enable the installation of the replacement bridge next summer will commence.

Sheet piling, which consists of inserting metal sheets into the ground vertically as a protective measure for buried services, such as cables, will take place from mid-October until December.

Throughout the rest of the project, work will mostly be taking place on weekdays during daytime hours. Where work outside of these hours is required, local residents and businesses will be provided with warning in advance.

The replacement of the Stapleton Road viaduct is a crucial part of the Filton Bank Four Tracking project, which is an expansion of the track between Dr Days Junction and Filton Abbey Wood station.

The new viaduct will play its part in doubling the lines through the area, enabling an increase in train services to meet expected growth in passenger numbers.

Network Rail’s project team are hosting a community drop-in session on Monday 9 October from 4.30pm until 7.30pm at St Marks Baptist Church, Easton, BS5 6HX for residents to learn more about this work.

Ashley Hill & Narroways

Further work on the Filton Bank Four Tracking project is set to get underway later this month at Ashley Hill & Narroways, with piling work and soil nailing.

Soil nailing is a technique used to stabilise the embankment, which involves driving nails into the earth and rock horizontally at regular intervals to hold the embankment in place. 

Following the removal of the footbridge at Ashley Hill last year and extensive drainage improvement works, a new steel footbridge was installed in August and is set to open early next year.

Narroways footbridge will also be replaced over the weekend of the 18 November with round the clock work to remove the existing footbridge and install a new one set to take place. This will also open early next year.

Two public drop-in events for local residents will take place between 4.30pm and 7.00pm on:

• Tuesday 10 October at St Werburgh's City Farm, Watercress Road, BS2 9YJ
• Monday 6 November at Fairfield High School, Allfoxton Road, Horfield, BS7 9NL

Kate Trevorrow, project manager for Network Rail, said: “Our work to deliver a better, more reliable railway for Bristol as part of our Railway Upgrade Plan is progressing well and these phases of work will bring passengers another step closer to the benefits that the Filton Bank Four Tracking project will bring.

“I’d like to encourage all residents living close to these projects to come along to our drop-in events and speak to our project team about what this work will entail and the benefits it will enable.

“Any residents unable to attend on these dates are welcome to contact our 24-hour helpline to find out more on 03457 11 41 41”

ENDS