Passengers are able to travel by rail between Portsmouth Harbour and Portsmouth & Southsea station again after Network Rail successfully replaced a 142-year-old railway bridge with a new 88-tonne British steel structure.
More than 50 Network Rail ‘Team Orange’ engineers have worked around the clock at Burnaby Road for five days to replace the life-expired bridge, delivering a more reliable train service for the future.
Load restrictions were put in place on the bridge to protect the previous structure, limiting freight train use. Passenger services would have required similar restrictions had this work not been carried out. The new bridge opened on Saturday 17th February.
The original aesthetic of the former bridge has been reflected in the new structure, which has been painted with the cream and blue colours of the Portsmouth crest.
Stuart Kistruck, director of route asset management for Network Rail’s Wessex route, said: “I’d like to thank passengers, motorists and those living in the local area for bearing with us as we’ve undertaken this important work. I’d also like to give thanks to our project team, who have completed this work safely and on-time despite some challenging weather conditions on site.
“This crossing is a really important part of our network, with thousands of trains passing over it every year carrying millions of passengers, so I’m very pleased we have been able to put in a new bridge that will support those journeys for many more years to come.”
