Media centre

Tuesday 4 Jul 2006

RAIL BRIDGE TO BE RENEWED

Region & Route:

Network Rail is to invest £1.5 million renewing the railway bridge over West Derby Road, Liverpool.  This will allow coal trains to continue delivering to Fiddlers Ferry power station, which supplies much of the city with its electricity. Tony Wilcock, Network Rail’s territory engineer, explained why the new bridge was needed: “The railway line carries freight trains, which deliver up to 27 million tonnes of coal to Fiddlers Ferry power station every year. The power station produces electricity for virtually the whole of Liverpool, so the coal – and its route to the power station – is needed to keep the lights on in Merseyside." There is already a 20mph speed restriction on the line because of the weight of passing trains, and although there are no immediate safety implications, the older part of the bridge needs to be replaced. With the bridge closed for renewal, no coal trains can make deliveries to the power station, so the work has to be carried out during the plant’s annual two-week shutdown period. As a result, the eastbound carriageway of West Derby Road will be closed between 10 and 17 July, with the westbound carriageway carrying two-way traffic. A number of side streets in the vicinity of the bridge will also be closed where they join West Derby Road. Liverpool City Council has worked with Network Rail on this project and has produced a local traffic management scheme to put the necessary diversions and road closures in place. During the work, Network Rail will be using a 300 tonne and 1,000 tonne crane plus a multi-axle vehicle. The smaller crane will be used between the Monday and Thursday for the on-site construction of the new 180 tonnes bridge. The 1,000 tonne crane will be used from mid-morning on the Saturday to remove the old bridge and to assist with installation of the new bridge, which will be slid into position on the multi-axle vehicle.