Railways are ‘appalled’ at not being told about bridge in-fill
A LONG-HELD ambition by the Eden Valley and Stainmore railways to reconnect has been put in jeopardy after Highways England began in-filling a vital bridge at Great Musgrave.
Highways England, which manages the Historical Railways Estate of over 3,000 disused structures on behalf of the Department for Transport, claims “an assessment undertaken in 1998 found the 159-year-old structure only suitable for 17 tonnes” and action was required to “remove the associated risk of structural collapse.” A copy of the 1998 report obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed how re-pointing of open joints in the arch barrel would be “satisfactory for full 40-tonne assessment loading.” Re-pointing the 1862-built bridge would have cost around £15,000-20,000, while Highways England’s in-filling is estimated to cost £124,000.
Although Highways England claims to have “consulted widely”, both the Eden Valley and Stainmore railways flatly deny there has been any dialogue with the company over the Great Musgrave bridge.
“The first we knew about it was when a list appeared in January”, reported Mike Thompson, Stainmore Railway project manager. “Our friends at the Eden Valley Railway are as appalled as we are over the claim. We have heard nothing from them.
“We would have welcomed the opportunity to make clear our opposition to this destructive project. Years of effort by dozens of volunteers are now in jeopardy. There’s not even been a planning application, so our voices have been totally silenced.”
The Historic Railway Estate Group – an alliance of engineers, sustainable transport advocates and greenway developers – is campaigning against the in-filling programme nationally. Member Graeme Bickerdike said:
“It is clear that Great Musgrave bridge is being in-filled for policy reasons, not because of any engineering or public safety issues.”