Media centre

Friday 5 Dec 2014

Challow bridge is reopened to the public

Region & Route:

| Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

The A417 bridge over the railway at Challow has reopened to the public today, Friday 5 December, after work to prepare it for electrification was completed on time.

The reconstruction of this bridge is an essential part of Network Rail’s electrification programme and will enable a new fleet of longer, faster, quieter and greener electric trains to serve commuters in Oxfordshire travelling on the route between Oxford and London and between Oxford and Cardiff.

The reconstruction work involved raising the height of the bridge to create the additional space needed for the overhead lines which will power the new electric trains to run underneath.

Jim Weeden, Network Rail’s project director, said: “I would like to thank the local community for their patience and understanding while we carried out the work needed to prepare this bridge for the electrification of the railway.

“The team worked hard to ensure that the reconstruction of this bridge was completed in as short a timeframe as possible and that it was finished on time. Now that the bridge has reopened, people and businesses in the region are a step closer to the benefits that electrification and the new electric trains will bring.”

Councillor David Nimmo Smith, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for transport, said: “This will be welcome news for all the people who use this route to commute and get around and I congratulate Network Rail for working so hard to get the bridge and road open on time.

“Many millions of pounds are being invested in transport in Oxfordshire at the moment by Network Rail, the government and county council, and it is exciting to see schemes that had been seen only as causing congestion now being completed and making a contribution to improving journey times and connectivity.”