Tuesday 3 Mar 2020
Spanning the ages
- Region & Route:
- National
- Two of the railway’s most iconic feats of engineering will be celebrating their birthdays this week.
- Scotland’s treasured Forth Bridge will be celebrating the 130th anniversary of its opening.
- Whereas Wales’ landmark Britannia Bridge will be celebrating the 170th year since it went into operation.
The Forth and The Britannia bridges are two of the most treasured and recognisable features on our railway. Both are admired the world over for their pioneering designs and methods of construction.
The Forth Bridge was opened in 1890 and still holds the record as the longest cantilever bridge in the world. It was the first major structure in Britain to be made of steel and its construction resulted in a continuous East Coast railway route from London to Aberdeen.
The Britannia Bridge was completed in 1850 and at the time of construction had the longest continuous wrought iron span in the world. Devastated by fire in 1970, the bridge was rebuilt using the masonry supports used in the original structure, restoring a vital rail link across the Menai Strait.
A testament to the quality and innovation of their engineering, both bridges remain an integral part of Britain’s railway, serving millions of passengers every year.
Notes to editors
More information on the bridges can be found on our website via the below links:
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Andrew Deegan
Media relations manager
Network Rail
andrew.deegan@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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