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Thursday 6 Apr 2017

Safety boost for Oxfordshire residents as new footbridge opens as part of Railway Upgrade Plan

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

Oxfordshire residents will benefit from a safer way to cross the railway following the opening of a new footbridge near Uffington by Network Rail.  

The new 50-tonne bridge spans the two track railway, replacing a pedestrian level crossing and removing the need for pedestrians to walk across the tracks.

The upgrade to the crossing underlines Network Rail’s commitment to improving safety on the railway, which has already seen more than 1,000 level crossings closed on Britain’s rail network.

The new footbridge was opened last Friday (March 31) by Ed Vaizey, MP for Wantage, along with staff from Network Rail and contractors, Murphy.

The occasion was also marked with help from the 1^st Stanford-in-the-Vale Scout group, who built a ‘Bug Hotel’ using leftover wooden materials to help encourage and increase biodiversity in the area. The hotel was built on site and will be transported to a local community garden. 

Aron Ventress, Network Rail’s senior programme manager, said: “The opening of this footbridge and the subsequent closure of the pedestrian level crossing is another positive step in our campaign to improve safety across the country’s rail network. The new footbridge also paves the way for the new new fleet of electric trains.

“We have the safest railway in Europe, and we are committed to improving the safety of the railway even further as part of our Railway Upgrade Plan.

Ed Vaizey, MP for Wantage, said: “I was delighted to open this new footbridge, a much safer way for locals to cross the track than the old pedestrian level crossing.

The “Bug Hotel” created by the 1st Stanford-in the-Vale Scout group was inspired and I look forward to seeing it in place in Uffington Community Garden”

ENDS