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Rail disruption as bridge on main line is repaired

Alex GreenSouth West
BBC A railway bridge over a river. There are trees and some buildings on either side of the tracks beyond the bridge.BBC
The River Plym Railway Bridge carries the railway between Plymouth and Totnes

Rail passengers in Devon are being warned of more disruption this week as track repair work continues.

Network Rail said it was strengthening a 50m-long (164ft-long) bridge at Plym Bridge, near Marsh Mills in Plymouth, to make sure it "remains safe for decades to come."

Great Western Railway (GWR) said the work, expected to end on Friday, meant all week, buses were replacing trains between Totnes, Ivybridge and Plymouth, and between Plymouth and Tiverton. The firm said some early morning or late evening services from Exeter would also be replaced by buses.

GWR also said it, Network Rail and the government were examining what other measures could be taken to improve local railway resilience.

'Take full advantage'

Paul Gentleman, from GWR, said the closure was "going to have a big impact" on rail services, and urged anyone planning on travelling by rail to check beforehand.

Network Rail said trains were now faster than ever before, as well as heavier and more frequent, and, if no work was done at Plym Bridge, it increased the risk of a fault developing in the near future.

It said 134 steel rail bearers would be installed between existing bridge crossbeams, and new rail bearers made of a synthetic wood which lasts longer than traditional timber, would also be laid along the length of the bridge.

The company added it would need access to the bridge from the river to complete the project and would be installing a temporary dam.

It said it would "take full advantage" to work on other parts of the railway while trains were not running.

A railway bridge over a river, seen through the beams of a metal fence. There are trees and some buildings on either side of the tracks beyond the bridge. There is a floating plastic platform in the water to the left of the bridge.
Work will be carried out on other parts of the railway while it is closed, Network Rail said

Gentleman said the firm and its customers had already had "a tough start to the year" with disruption caused by storms and heavy rain across Devon and Cornwall.

He said GWR, Network Rail and the Department for Transport continued to monitor the weather, to see what other measures could be taken to "improve the resilience of the railway."

"I have to say, in my career in the railway, this is probably been the worst time that I've seen, where we've been so badly affected by flooding, for such a long period of time," he added.

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