End of the line for historic Shropshire bridge as new river crossing installed

One of the largest cranes in the country was brought in to replace the railway bridge over the River Teme, south of Ludlow, over the Christmas holidays, in a £7.7 million project.

The work to remove the original bridge and replace it with a modern structure that can take faster trains was completed last week at the site, just north of the village of Ashford Carbonel.

Workmen have taken a time-lapse video of the switch, using the 1,200 tonne crane, which will be uploaded to Network Rail's video website this week.

The line between Shrewsbury and Hereford was completely closed after the last train at 9.15pm on Christmas Eve, for the work to be carried out,

The project took five days to complete, over-running by one day as the line, which is part of the main route connecting South Wales with the north, re-opened to rail traffic on December 30. During that time replacement bus services ran between Shrewsbury and Hereford.

Graeme Tandy, route delivery director for Network Rail Wales, said: "There is never a good time to close the railway but passenger numbers are much lower over the Christmas period with around half the number of journeys made each day.

"Our engineers worked around the clock over Christmas to complete a bridge replacement project near Ludlow in the shortest possible time-frame and we thank passengers and residents for their patience."

The new bridge is larger and improved, which means it will be able to cater for the ever increasing demand for passenger and freight services, he said.

It also means that trains no longer have to slow down to negotiate the old cast iron bridge, which dated back to 1852.

Mr Tandy said: "A speed restriction for passenger and freight trains will be removed, which will allow for faster services in the future.A robust railway is vital to a thriving economy."