SIDELINES

Royal Patron for Transport Trust

THE TransportTrust, a charity dedicated to the preservation of the nation's transport heritage, has announced The Princess Royal will be its new royal patron.

The organisation will also be rebranded as the National TransportTrust (NTT).

Trespassing rise during lockdown

NETWORK Rail says there was an average of 34 trespass incidents per day in the first month of the lockdown, amounting to train delays of nearly 400 hours.

Heritage railways have also seen the public using rail tracks as footpaths, unaware there may still be train movements while no public services are operating.

Seaton Tramathon

SEATON Tramway will be running its Tramathon fundraising appeal from June 8-12, featuring a week of live videos streamed on Facebook to help raise money for the charity and secure the future of the operation.

There will be behind-thescenes views, and on June 11 a 24-hour tram trip will be shown continuously between Seaton and Colyton stations.

£25m overhaul for Barmouth Bridge

BARMOUTH Bridge will undergo a £25million refurbishment over the next three years, said to be the largest in its 156-year history.

Three closures are planned, the first of which will take place this autumn to replace both timber and steel/iron elements of the Grade-II* listed structure.

Track along the entire 820-metre length of the bridge will also be replaced.

Preparations start this month for the initial phase of work. It will focus on replacing and repairing timber components, which make up the majority (700m) of the structure.