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Household waste is helping to keep the lights on for 50,000 homes during the coronavirus crisis as Network Rail continues to move an essential freight service which carries waste from London to an energy plant in the South West.

A level crossing in Tackley, Oxfordshire, has closed and been replaced by footbridge as Network Rail continues to make the railway safer.

Network Rail has lit the iconic Britannia Bridge blue to say thank you to NHS staff and other key workers – including frontline railway colleagues – who are continuing to operate a safe and reliable railway to support essential passenger journeys, and keep freight moving across the network.

Network Rail’s Bristol Temple Meads station has been lit up in blue this evening to show solidarity with front-line NHS staff and key workers across the country.

A Grade II listed bridge in Steventon, Oxfordshire, has been saved after innovative testing and the introduction of a new speed limit by Network Rail means it no longer has to be replaced as part of electrification.

Network Rail’s station teams at Bristol Temple Meads, Reading and London Paddington have thanked the public for their support after they received dozens of pictures of railway themed rainbows since launching an appeal earlier this month.

Network Rail have been training extra signallers with the help of a heritage centre as they aim to continue to move people who can’t work from home, like NHS staff, and vital freight throughout the coronavirus crisis.

Network Rail has thanked passengers for their patience and for only making essential journeys after they completed essential maintenance upgrades across Wales and the west.