Media centre

Wednesday 4 Nov 2015

Huntingdon railway bridge set for upgrade

Region & Route:

| Eastern

A railway bridge which carries the East Coast Main Line through Huntingdon is set to be improved as part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan.

The bridge over Ermine Street near the town centre will undergo strengthening work, minor repairs and receive a special protective coating to improve long term reliability and keep trains running over the bridge safely.  

The work has been split into two separate phases to minimise disruption to trains as well as road users. Phase one will begin this weekend, meaning signposted diversions will be in place for road traffic between 9pm on Saturday 7 November and 5am on Monday 9 November. The same pattern of road closures will be repeated for the following five weekends, with work on phase one finishing by 5am on Monday 13 December. Work on phase two will not begin until February next year, with the work being split over two periods to further reduce disruption.

Despite being closed to road vehicles, Ermine Street will remain open to pedestrians and cyclists throughout the duration of the upgrade work, while emergency service vehicles will also be granted access.

Members of the Network Rail project team held a drop-in session at Huntingdon library on Wednesday 4 November to answers residents’ questions and explain the plans that are in place to keep disruption to a minimum.

Mark Tarry, route managing director at Network Rail, said: “Improvements like the work we’re doing to Ermine Street bridge keeps passenger and freight services running, which ultimately benefits the economies of the towns and cities served by the railway. The work is being carried out in two phases to keep disruption levels as low as possible for the people of Huntingdon and I’d like to thank them for their patience while the work takes place.”