Media centre

Thursday 16 Jun 2005

PHOTOCALL: AWARD FOR BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Date:                           Monday 20 June 2005 Time:                          10.50am Location:                    Portrack House, Dumfriesshire Event:                         Official unveiling of award-winning rail project Media contact:          Donna Reid, 0141 555 4109 Maggie’s Centre co-founder Charles Jencks will next week host the official unveiling of the dramatic railway bridge he helped design – at the bottom of his garden. Mr Jencks was the architectural consultant for the Portrack project, which included the construction of a bright red bridge to carry the Glasgow and South West Scotland railway line across the River Nith in Dumfriesshire. The structure sits near the Garden of Cosmic Speculation at Mr Jencks’ home, Portrack House. Now he is to add the finishing touch to the bridge – a plaque to mark the project winning The Saltire Society’s Award for Civil Engineering. Ron McAulay, Route Director for Network Rail Scotland, said: “This award is a real credit to a very dedicated team. Few bridges capture the imagination in the way Portrack has. The new structure is stunning and it provides an answer to the difficult engineering problem of getting trains across the volatile River Nith.” The team included specialists from Network Rail, Carillion – the main contractor – and Scott Wilson Scotland Ltd, the project’s designers.