Media centre

Wednesday 18 Dec 2019

Vital upgrade to Newcastle’s historic King Edward Bridge continues this Christmas

Region & Route:

Eastern

Network Rail will continue on a major project to improve the reliability of the railway in Newcastle this Christmas as work takes place at King Edward Bridge.

The 12 year project is entering its ninth year and will take place between the last service on Christmas Eve and the first service on Friday, 27 December. During this time, Network Rail workers will replace wooden beams within the Grade II listed structure.

Collectively, the workers will spend over 2500 hours on the project and install 14 pairs of beams. The beams need to be replaced to make sure that trains can continue to run reliably and safely for years to come.

Over the festive period, over 20,000 railway staff will deliver 386 projects across England, Scotland and Wales. Major work takes place during this time as this is when fewer people travel, meaning less disruption for passengers at busier times of the year. As usual, there will be no train services on Christmas Day or Boxing Day in this area. Anyone travelling over the festive period is urged to check before traveling via National Rail Enquiries or with their train operator.

Paul Rutter, Route Director for Network Rail’s East Coast Route, said: “This Christmas, we will be out in full force making vital improvements to the railway.

“Here in Newcastle, we will continue with a major project to replace the beams on King Edward Bridge to improve reliability for passengers. The team will work round the clock so that train services can resume as normal on Friday, 27 December.

“Whilst this work won’t impact on passenger services, we would like to remind anyone travelling over the festive period to check before travelling via National Rail Enquiries, as there will be changes to services across the country.”

ENDS