Network Rail chief: ‘closing the Nuneham bridge absolutely correct’

Andrew Haines, the head of Network Rail, visited the site of the partly collapsed bridge near Oxford and joined the engineer crews. Haines praised the team for their efforts to repair the Victorian structure despite the line remaining closed for some weeks yet. He also said that the decision to close the bridge was absolutely correct. New photographs released by Network Rail show that there was no alternative.

Nuneham Viaduct carries the Cherwell Valley Line across the River Thames and is located between Culham and Radley, near the town of Abingdon in Oxfordshire. The structure was already subject to remedial work by Network Rail when it partially collapsed in the early hours of 4 April.

As well as being a busy passenger route, the Cherwell Valley Line forms part of the freight spine, connecting the deep sea ports of the south coast with the Midlands of England. Passenger services on the line are suspended. Freight traffic is being diverted, mainly via Reading and London.

Absolutely the right decision to close

Andrew Haines has seen for himself the extent of the damage and the challenges facing his Network Rail colleagues and their contractors. “Very enlightening visit to the works at Nuneham Viaduct, seeing first-hand the engineering challenges facing our team that’s drawn from many parts of the industry”, he said. “Together they’re looking to reopen the railway. It was absolutely the right decision to close the bridge given the sudden, rapid proliferation of movement.”

Network Rail had been monitoring the viaduct for some time because of its movement and has been undertaking engineering interventions to stabilise it. In a statement from the infrastructure agency, they said the movement in the structure has significantly worsened in recent weeks. As pictures from the agancy show, the structural collapse has now reached a point where it is not safe to carry passenger nor freight trains, forcing the significant step of temporarily closing it. That step was taken on 4 April after significant structural deterioration.

River closed to position a pontoon

It’s not just rail customers who are inconvenienced. An order from the UK government Environment Agency says that river traffic will be hampered too. “The southern arch of Nuneham Viaduct will be closed for boat users’ safety, and emergency construction works”, said the Department in an order issued on Thursday 6 April, and in force until Friday 5 May 2023. “This restriction is for initial works to be taken under the south railway arch prior to further bridge repairs, during the overall repair of the bridge abutment. During this time there will be a restricted river under the southern arch of the railway bridge. Caution is to be taken by boat masters when travelling via northern arch route, as this will be two-way traffic, and masters must take note of any instructions given by staff as to navigation past this point.

To enable the repair works, a pontoon will be moved into position to enable works to be taken from beneath the railway bridge in the channel. This will completely obstruct the southern arch during works. Subsequently the pontoon will be removed to a safe mooring when work is finished. “I will continue to focus energies on delivering for our passengers and customers – ensuring that everyone involved in repairs is very much aware of the disruption these works are causing to those using our network”, said Haines. “We are working as quick as we can to make the necessary assessments and repairs but the nature of the damage, the ground conditions and site constraints means this is not at all straightforward.”