Monday 12 Mar 2018
New station footbridge opens at Addiewell
- Region & Route:
- Scotland’s Railway: Scotland
Passengers arriving at Addiewell this morning will have noticed a significant difference in their station with the removal of the old and opening of the new station footbridge.
The new bridge spans 11.7m to connect the platforms and sits 5.6m above the rails to deliver the clearance for running wires to enable the safe electrification of the line. It has been constructed next to the existing bridge and although lifts are not being installed as part of this programme, the design has made provision for this to happen in the future.
With the new footbridge complete and ready to open, a 100t crane was on site over the weekend to remove the 10t cast iron bridge, stairs and supporting columns from the station. It was cut and lifted out in five sections, before being broken up and removed from site.
Pedestrian access was maintained between platforms as the existing footbridge remained open throughout the works during station opening times. The footbridge was only closed at night to enable work on the new bridge – constructed immediately to the west of the old structure.
The project was delivered from a purpose-built site compound established adjacent to the station car park in June 2017 and completed over an eight month period. This project is part of wider work on the Shotts line being delivered by Network Rail ahead of the electrification of the route by 2019.
Kevin McClelland, route delivery director for infrastructure projects, said: “We are reaching the end of route clearance activities on the project where we have cleared structures on the route from being an obstruction to the safe running of the overhead wires which enable electrification.
“This new footbridge at Addiewell will enhance the amenity of the station and the design offers the potential to install lifts in the future to deliver full accessibility”.
The work at Addiewell station was being delivered by contractor Bam Nuttal on behalf of Network Rail.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office - Owen Campbell
NR Press Office 0141 555 4108 / 07515 617073
Owen.Campbell1@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