Media centre

Monday 6 Nov 2017

Railway neighbours invited to find out more about £1.8m investment in historic Wyre Viaduct

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

Residents living near the Wyre railway viaduct between Preston and Lancaster are invited to a drop-in event next week to find out more about upgrade work to the historic structure.

As part of Network Rail’s £1bn+ Great North Rail Project, £1.797m is being invested in strengthening and waterproofing the iconic six arch railway bridge which carries the West Coast main line over the River Wyre. Preliminary work started on 23 October and will finish at the send of February 2018 with the main core of the work taking place from 23 December to 28 December 2017, during which there will 24 hour working.

The drop in session will give residents the opportunity to speak to Network Rail staff who will be on hand to answer questions and provide more detail on the work being carried out and how it will impact Scorton.

The event will take place on Thursday 16 November between 3pm and 6pm at The Barn at Scorton, The Square, Scorton, PR3 1AE.

Helena Williams, scheme project manager for Network Rail, said: “This work forms part of our Railway Upgrade Plan and will help deliver a better, more reliable service for passengers on the West Coast main line.

"I appreciate this essential work could be disruptive so I’d like to thank local residents for their patience in advance while we carry it out. We will take all possible measures to keep disruption to an absolute minimum and our engineers will be briefed about working responsibly in the local community.”

The work is complex and involves:

• Lifting the track to the strengthen works can take place
• Brickwork repairs to the structure
• Renewing the hand rail
• Removing the refuges on the structure
• Strengthen parapet/spandrel walls of the structure via pre-cast concrete units and cast in-situ concrete
• Waterproofing the deck of the structure
• Adjusting the Over Head Line Equipment
• Follow up works to complete the track works

Any residents who cannot make the drop in and have any questions can call our 24 hour national helpline on 03457 11 41 41.