Leicestershire bridge to be upgraded, ready for an electric railway: Station Road bridge in Great Glen, Leicester

Monday 9 Jan 2023

Leicestershire bridge to be upgraded, ready for an electric railway

Region & Route:
Eastern
| Eastern: East Midlands

Network Rail is raising a bridge in Great Glen, Leicestershire, to clear the way for train-powering electric wires to be installed in the future.

Work will begin on Friday 13 January and will finish in summer 2023. It’s part of the multi-million-pound Midland Main Line electrification programme, which is currently working to electrify the railway between Kettering and Wigston.

Reconstructing the bridge – which allows cars to travel over the railway via Station Road – and raising it by just over half a metre will provide enough room for the overhead line equipment needed to power electric and hybrid trains to eventually pass underneath the bridge.

The programme supports the Government’s ambitions for decarbonisation, while ultimately offering passengers a greener way to travel and delivering a quieter, cleaner railway for those living alongside it.

To allow this work to take place safely, Station Road will be closed between the junction with Newton Lane and the junction with Kibworth Road from Friday 13 January until late July. As part of the project, the road will also need to be reconstructed approximately 50 metres either side of the bridge.

Network Rail has worked closely with Leicestershire County Council to keep disruption to a minimum and put a signposted diversion in place.

Gary Walsh, East Midlands Route Director for Network Rail said: “This important piece of work will help us to eventually electrify the route between Kettering and Wigston to deliver a cleaner, greener railway that’s fit for the future.

“I’d like to thank the community for their patience over the coming months and we’ll continue to work with Leicestershire County Council to reduce the impact of our work.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Find out more about the Midland Main Line electrification project at Midland Main Line Upgrade - Network Rail

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Louise Leighton
Media Relations Manager
Network Rail
07858 375508
louise.leighton2@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk