SPRING CLEAN FOR WALLINGTON VIADUCT

Friday 3 Feb 2006

SPRING CLEAN FOR WALLINGTON VIADUCT

Region & Route:: | Southern: Wessex; | Southern

Wallington viaduct, which carries the cross country route from Fareham to Southampton, is undergoing a £160,000 facelift to restore it to its former glory. The 18-arch listed viaduct is almost 160 years old and stands in a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Network Rail’s programme of maintenance, which is expected to be completed at the end of March, involves clearing vegetation, repairing brickwork and jet washing the structure. David Wilks, Network Rail’s territory maintenance director, said: “We are working hard to repair the viaduct – without disrupting train services, which continue to run as normal. Our work will ensure this great historic structure lasts another 160 years.” Network Rail has taken great care in the planning and application of the work to minimise the impact on the local environment: double-boarding the scaffolding to prevent it scarring the structure, and removing dirt and dust so that they do not pollute the river.

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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.

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