OREANDA-NEWS. The reconstruction of Somerton Road Bridge began in autumn last year as part of the work to electrify the South Wales Mainline, a major part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan to deliver a bigger, better railway for passengers.

The ageing structure which dated back to 1850 has been replaced with a new and improved bridge which will accommodate the new fleet of electric trains as well as providing a wider footpath for pedestrians and cyclists and a straighter road alignment.

Electrification of the railway line will provide faster, greener, quieter and more reliable journeys for tens of thousands of passengers every day, better connecting South Wales and improving links to London.

Karl Gilmore, programme manager for Network Rail Wales said: “We would like to thank the local community for their patience while we carried out this essential upgrade work as part of our Railway Upgrade Plan to deliver a bigger, better railway for passengers.”

Upgrade work now progresses at Bridge Street Road Bridge, with a critical milestone of the project to replace the old structure taking place this weekend when the main span of the existing bridge will be removed.

Network Rail owns, manages and develops Britain's railway - the 20,000 miles of track, 40,000 bridges and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations (the largest of which we also run). In partnership with train operators we help people take more than 1.65bn journeys by rail every year and move hundreds of millions of tonnes of freight, saving almost 8m lorry journeys. We employ 36,000 people across Britain and work round-the-clock, each and every day, to provide a safe, reliable railway.