Watch time-lapse video showing new bridge be installed over railway at Lichfield station
New time-lapse footage shows the major improvements that have been carried out at a Staffordshire railway station.
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The work over the festive period at Lichfield Trent Valley station was captured on camera as part of a near-£6 million improvement project to upgrade services for passengers using the Cross City Line which runs from Lichfield to Redditch.
The effort has so far seen the track shut down on Christmas Day and Boxing Day for a new platform bridge to be installed. This was followed by the reopening of the West Coast Main Line on Wednesday.
Network Rail engineers worked round-the-clock using a 650-tonne crane to lift the new 40-metre-long bridge deck into place ready for trains to serve the station in time for New Year celebrations.
The old bridge which carried trains over the top of the West Coast main line was removed during the summer resulting in the Cross City Line stopping short at Lichfield City station for the past six months.
Rail bosses said it was a complex engineering project delivered as part of a £5.8m investment to improve future journeys on an important rail route through the West Midlands.
Network Rail's principal route engineer Federica Labanca said: “We’re really grateful to passengers for bearing with us while we upgraded the bridge at Lichfield Trent Valley station as part of our Christmas improvements and look forward to reopening platform three on the Cross City Line this weekend.
“Although the majority of our festive upgrades are complete, I want to remind passengers travelling across the Midlands to check before they travel on New Year’s Day when we will be carrying out essential track work between Birmingham and Coventry to make journeys more reliable. Our advice is to plan your journey in advance by using National Rail Enquiries.”
On January 1 engineers will be carrying out essential maintenance work between Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International stations to complex overhead electric wires which power trains, replacing three track ‘switches and crossings’, upgrading signalling systems, and carrying out important bridge checks.
This will result in longer journeys, busier trains and some rail replacement buses for passengers. Trains between Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International will not run and West Midlands Trains will operate replacement buses between Birmingham International, Marston Green, Lea Hall, Stechford, Adderley park and Birmingham Moor Street stations instead of to Birmingham New Street.
There will be significantly reduced services on Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry between Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International stations.
Passengers should plan journeys in advance by visiting nationalrail.co.uk.
