TRACK EQUIPMENT & MAINTENANCE
RTM speaks to Network Rail’s Rosie Majer and co-ordinator of the South West Wales Integrated Transport
Consortium, Sue Miles, about the reconstruction of the Loughor viaduct and plans to re-double the singled section of the Swansea to Llanelli route.
T
he dual-tracking of a six-mile stretch of railway in south west Wales, as part of a wider upgrade to boost capacity and cut journey times in the region, will also ne- cessitate the complete replacement of the timber Loughor viaduct, which would be in danger of buckling under the weight of a modern twin-track railway.
The works as a whole will cost around £40m, split between the Welsh Assembly
30 | rail technology magazine Dec/Jan 12
Government and Network Rail, which is funding the viaduct works – vital if the im- provements from dual-tracking the rest of the six miles are to be fully realised.
Rosie Majer, Network Rail scheme pro- ject manager in its Investment Projects Buildings and Civils team, said the works as a whole will increase the amount of ser- vices that can operate between Llanelli and Swansea.
She explained: “The Welsh Assembly Gov- ernment has provided a business case to explain why they’re backing the works, as part of which a couple of structures are go- ing to be strengthened.
“The main structure that needs to be changed is Loughor viaduct, which basical- ly needs to be replaced. Currently it’s un- able to support twin-tracks to the loading that we need to run the trains over them.”
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