Passengers reminded to check before they travel ahead of Lytham St Annes bridge work: Bridge deck removal at Highbury road in Lytham St Annes

Friday 22 Feb 2019

Passengers reminded to check before they travel ahead of Lytham St Annes bridge work

Region & Route:
North West & Central

Passengers and residents in Lytham St Annes are being reminded of changes to rail services as a result of bridge work in the town.

Work to replace Highbury Road bridge, as part of the Great North Rail Project, began in January but in two weeks’ time the main construction will start - meaning the railway between Kirkham & Wesham and Blackpool South will be closed for two weekends in March.

Improvements will make the bridge safer, more reliable and in need of less maintenance in future.

The work means that on 9-10 and 16-17 March replacement buses will run between Preston and Blackpool South. The railway between Preston and Blackpool North will remain open at all times.

Kathryn Berry, scheme project manager for Network Rail, said: “This essential refurbishment is part of the Great North Rail Project and will ensure that Highbury Road bridge will remain safe for years to come.

“I apologise for any impact the work will have and would like to thank passengers and local people in advance for their patience.”

Chris Jackson, regional director for Northern, said: “The Great North Rail Project is transforming the railway in the north of England and has provided Blackpool with significant improvements during the past 12 months. This latest phase of work is key to the ongoing improvements and future-proofing of our network in Lancashire.

“I’d like to thank our customers and other local people for their patience and understanding, and call on anyone planning to use Northern services on the affected weekends to carefully check timetables before they travel.”

While the work takes place, Highbury Road is closed to motorists and will reopen on Friday 10 May 2019. A clearly signposted road diversion is in place throughout the work. Pedestrians and cyclists will still be able to cross the railway using a temporary crossing throughout the project's duration.

Passengers can plan and check their journeys at www.nationalrail.co.uk.

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 - North West & Central Region
07740 782954
NWCmediarelations@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