Rail passengers and shoppers reminded of upcoming closures at Aldershot: Aldershot High Street

Monday 13 Jun 2016

Rail passengers and shoppers reminded of upcoming closures at Aldershot

Region & Route:
| Southern: Wessex
| Southern

Network Rail is reminding passengers in Aldershot to check before they travel over the weekend of 25 and 26 June while it replaces a 120 year old bridge over Aldershot High Street as part of its Railway Upgrade Plan.

Road users in Aldershot should also be aware of diversions in place as part of the High Street will be closed to traffic for three weeks from Monday 20 June to Friday 8 July while the work is carried out, along with a diversion on Victoria Road from Wednesday 22 June to Monday 27 June (inclusive), during which time the section of Victoria Road from the High Street to Albert Road will be closed to traffic.

During the road closures, footpaths on the High Street and Victoria Road will remain open to pedestrians, with the exception of the footpaths directly underneath the bridge.

Mark Evans, Asset Engineer at Network Rail said, “During the upgrade, it is essential to close the high street to vehicles to allow the safe operation of a large crane which will lift the new bridge into position. We’re keen to stress that while the road is closed to traffic, it’s very much open to pedestrians and open for business.

“The current bridge is over 120 years old so it is essential that we replace it, and we’re working hard to minimise the disruption to passengers, businesses and the local community. We really appreciate their understanding while we carry out these vital improvements.”

The new bridge will be painted red and blue in a nod to the town’s historic army garrison and football club.

Mark added, “I’m really proud to work for a company that engages so well with the local community by looking for ways to go above and beyond what’s normally expected. We hope to provide a new bridge that resonates within the local community and helps highlight a proud Aldershot history.

Passengers should check before they travel at nationalrail.co.uk or southwesttrains.co.uk

ENDS

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 Johns
Media relations manager (Wessex route)
07710 959476
Owen.Johns@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.

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