Media centre

Friday 19 Dec 2008

NETWORK RAIL BUILDS BRIDGES WITH ASHFIELD

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Network Rail has rebuilt a run down footbridge over the railway in Ashfield Village, near Dunblane, to allow local residents continued access over the busy Glasgow to Perth railway.

The rundown bridge had been used for many years by local residents to walk to Dunblane and allow village children to walk to school. The village of Ashfield was built in 1868 for workers at Ashfield Mill and the bridge was built as the main access route into the village for horses and carts.

When the bridge underwent a routine inspection in 2006, it was found to be reaching the end of its functional life and residents were concerned that it would be permanently removed. Following discussions with the community, however, Network Rail decided to refurbish the bridge to modern standards, creating a lasting pedestrian access across the railway.

David Pickett, Chairman of the Ashfield Village Association was delighted with the work carried out on the bridge. He commented:

“This bridge is an important walking route for everyone living in the village from dog walkers, to village strollers and children walking into school. Not having the bridge has meant a lot longer walk for the children going into school. Network Rail and its contractor Carillion have liaised closely with the residents. They understood the important role this bridge played in village life and we’re pleased to see it refurbished to an extremely high standard.”

Ron McAulay, Network Rail Director, Scotland said:

“We’re pleased that we’ve been able to refurbish this bridge with the full cooperation of the residents of Ashfield. The work required us to move some heavy machinery onto site and some temporary disruption was caused to residents.

“We have now fully completed the bridge upgrading work and restored the condition of the access points used by our plant machinery. We’re pleased that the residents are happy with the end result.”

Leading civil engineering and support services company, Carillion Civil Engineering, managed the bridge upgrade work on behalf of Network Rail.