Monday 19 Dec 2005

COMBERFORD FOOTBRIDGE SWINGS INTO ACTION

Region & Route:

Villagers in Comberford, near Tamworth, are set to have a new route across the railway after a new footbridge was lifted in to place over the weekend. The bridge is part of the project known as Trent Valley 4 Tracking (TV4), which is part of the upgrade of the West Coast Main Line. The new tracks will increase capacity and provide a more reliable service for passengers travelling between London, the Midlands, the North West and Scotland. The new bridge spans all four tracks of the newly expanded line and will be open to the public by the end of January 2006. Keith Riley, Network Rail Programme Manager, said: “This is a significant milestone in the project to expand the railway in the Trent Valley. The new footbridge is the first of many structures we will be building in the area as part of this project. ” A 500 tonne capacity crane lifted and placed into position the various parts of the bridge. During the morning, the trestles were positioned so that the new 28.6 metre span, 35 tonne footbridge was positioned on top and fixed into place. Engineers worked to bolt the span to the trestles, following which the platforms were positioned and fixed.

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