A key railway bridge in Oxfordshire is likely to remain closed for another two months over stability and safety concerns.
Network Rail has temporarily closed Nuneham Viaduct and the railway between Didcot Parkway and Oxford ‘to ensure the safety of passengers’.
It said on Monday morning that it is ‘working round the clock’ to install a temporary structure to stabilise the bridge near Abingdon so that trains can safely run again by 10 June.
While there will be an impact on passenger services, the wider effect on freight is set to be much larger as the viaduct is part of a key route for rail freight from Southampton docks to the Midlands.
The infrastructure operator has been carrying out stabilisation works on the viaduct in recent weeks and monitoring equipment has detected ‘significant movement’.
Network Rail said it is working closely with operators Great Western Railway, CrossCountry and Chiltern Railways with a revised timetable in operation for the duration of the line closure, with a rail replacement service and local shuttle services running.
It said passengers travelling between London Paddington and Oxford or the North Cotswolds should change at Didcot Parkway for replacement bus services, adding about 40 mins to journey times.
Those travelling between the Midlands and the south coast should also change onto replacement bus services between Oxford and Didcot Parkway.
