Network Rail plans OLE tests on Forth Bridge
Engineers could soon be installing overhead line equipment on the Forth Bridge, to see how it copes with weather conditions.
The plan should entail OLE components potentially including contact wire and rigid contact bars - being placed on the bridge, which is classed as a world heritage site. They could remain in place for several years to assess which best stands the wind and rain of the Firth of Forth.
Bridge owner Network Rail told RAIL that it had yet to brief Transport Scotland on the plan, or to approach Historic Scotland or the local authority for formal permission to install the components.
If Transport Scotland is to achieve its ambition of running electric trains between Edinburgh and Aberdeen (RAIL 964), it will need to wire the bridge. As an interim step, NR is wiring from Haymarket (Edinburgh) to Dalmeny (on the bridge’s south approach) and from Kinghorn to Ladybank on the line from the bridge towards Dundee and Aberdeen.