Rail bridge work splits villages near Didcot for four months

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Work to replace a rail bridge in Oxfordshire will close a road linking two villages for four months, Network Rail has said.

The route between North and South Moreton will close from 14 December to April 2010 during the work to allow larger freight trains to use the line.

People living in the area called an alternative route for pedestrians "impossible" to use.

Network Rail said it had recently helped to improve an underpass. It said it had helped to upgrade the footpath at Sadsgrove underpass that was an alternative means of crossing the railway line.

Tim Haworth, landlord of The Bear pub in North Moreton, claimed the underpass can be muddy and difficult for cyclists to use.

Dr Roger Templeman, the clerk of South Moreton Parish Council, said: "The proposed route for pedestrians is unacceptable, impossible and I don't know what horseriders are supposed to do."

An interesting choice of picture to illustrate this story, by the way. 

[JayMac]

An interesting choice of picture to illustrate this story, by the way. 

Cheaper to pull an ancient photo out of the archive than send a photographer to get an up to date pic. Or, just lazy journalism.

[inspector_blakey]

Hmm. Well, assuming it is a picture of the bridge in question (don't know the area well enough to be sure), a lot of charter trains using stock like that still run through Oxford so it could well be relatively recent.

I can't quite believe I'm standing up for the journos here but... 

[Chris from Nailsea]

I didn't say it was the wrong choice of picture: I merely suggested it was an interesting one ... 

[JayMac]

Hmm. Well, assuming it is a picture of the bridge in question (don't know the area well enough to be sure), a lot of charter trains using stock like that still run through Oxford so it could well be relatively recent.

I'll concede the point. On clicking on the picture to save it, the default filename is ".....sandsroadtornado", so it could indeed be a picture of a charter.

Journos 1 Bignose 0.

Some more pics of the bridge and underpass can be found here.

[IndustryInsider]

Hmm. Well, assuming it is a picture of the bridge in question (don't know the area well enough to be sure), a lot of charter trains using stock like that still run through Oxford so it could well be relatively recent.

It is a recent one - within the last 5 years as the shiny new brickwork on the top was only added around 2005. The bridge next to it is also getting similar treatment. It sounds like South Moreton parish council weren't as quick on the mark as Pangbourne's for getting it needlessly listed!

[willc]

Or it could just be that there's precious little left of the original structure, which is usually a key factor in assessing whether something is worth listing.

And does anyone know if NR^» (Network Rail - home page) are appealing over Pangbourne, because when it comes to historic interest and architectural merit there are dozens of Brunel structures around that are not listed - and were 100 per cent designed under his supervision, as opposed to something where just one arch is actually original, with the other being added later when the line was quadrupled.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From The Herald Series:

Restoration of South Moreton bridge means end of four-month ordeal for villagers

A four-month ordeal has ended for villagers in South and North Moreton with the reopening of the bridge connecting the villages.
The railway bridge in South Moreton had been closed since December, as Network Rail raised its height for freight trains to travel from Southampton to Nuneaton.
Pedestrians and cyclists were forced to take long detours across muddy fields.
Parish council clerk Roger Templeman said: ^There is still no appreciation that it is not just South Moreton that has been inconvenienced ^ public transport to all the neighbouring parishes was made unreliable for commuters, and local businesses were affected. Cyclists and pedestrians trying to get to the supermarket, school or work have experienced a nightmare, especially during the bad weather, and the way inconvenience payments were made to residents neighbouring the site seemed arbitrary and caused a lot of resentment.^
Caroline and Melvin Vaughan, of North Moreton, who do not drive, said they had been getting up at 5.30am every day to escort their daughter to work along dark, isolated tracks.
Mrs Vaughan, 48, said: ^My son is on his third bike since the work started. When it was snowing, it was really bad. When I went up to the bridge this morning, I realised something was missing ^ my wellies. I have been living in them.^
Local residents had to fight for more than two months before Network Rail laid on a shuttle bus service between the two villages.
Dr Templeman said: ^The whole matter has made me so cross ^ so much time wasted only to achieve a few concessions, and I feel nobody will actually have learned anything from their failings.^
The new bridge has far higher sides than its predecessor, with a wider road surface and footpaths for pedestrians.
The closest neighbour, 88-year-old Eileen Hutchings, said despite her annoyance about levels of compensation paid for putting up with demolition work over Christmas, the workmen had been very good. She said: ^They had a very good attitude, were always polite, and I never heard any swearing. They were always as quiet as possible.^
County councillor Rodney Rose said: ^I am very pleased this bridge is being reopened after several months of great inconvenience to local people and businesses, but I welcome the fact the bridge is now wider and safer, with a new footpath.^
Network Rail spokesman Russell Spink said: ^We thank the residents of both South and North Moreton for their patience while this vital upgrade was carried out. It is part of a much larger project to upgrade the railway between Southamp-ton and the West Midlands which will help take up to 50,000 lorries a year from the region^s roads, making a valuable contribution to the economy and helping Britain compete better in the global marketplace.^

[Oxman]

I dont understand the bit about pedestrians and bikers being inconvenienced. Temporary footbridges were erected next to both of the bridges, and I can't believe they were there solely for the convenience of the workforce. Both footbridges came down a few weeks ago, presumeably when the new bridges were fit for purpose.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hmm.

I cannot comment on the accuracy of that article, Oxman: I merely quoted what a 'Herald Reporter' wrote, attributing it to Dr Roger Templeman, clerk of South Moreton Parish Council.

Actually, I thought this bit was rather amusing:

The closest neighbour, 88-year-old Eileen Hutchings, said despite her annoyance about levels of compensation paid for putting up with demolition work over Christmas, the workmen had been very good. She said: ^They had a very good attitude, were always polite, and I never heard any swearing. They were always as quiet as possible.^

Bless her! 

[Oxman]

I'm always a bit wary of exagerated claims when compensation is involved. Sounds as though at least one lady was taking a balanced view!

[willc]

temporary footbridges were erected next to both of the bridges, and I can't believe they were there solely for the convenience of the workforce.

They most certainly were. But there was an admission from the county council at the end of last year that they should have done better. From the Oxford Mail/Herald series:

The county council^s transport officer, Brian Fell, told South Moreton Parish Council that nobody at county hall had taken a ^holistic view^ of the road closure. He said: ^There is a lesson to be learned from this and I am sorry that we have to learn it at the expense of local residents.^

And the compensation was paid per person, so Mrs Hutchings, who is right next to the bridge, got ^210 while families living elsewhere in the village got multiples of that figure, depending on how many people there were in the household.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Just for the record, I'm posting a couple of comments here.  These are taken from an e-mail I have received, on this particular topic:

The photo used in the article does indeed show the stock behind Tornado (an ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) working just before the Brunel bridge was demolished) so it was up to date.

Re: Comment that the arrangements for pedestrian/cyclist diversion being pathetically arranged by Oxfordshire County Council were unfounded because Network Rail had constructed a temporary bridge alongside the demolished bridge. Unfortunately your correspondent's assumption that Network Rail (Carillion) would behave logically and allow pedestrians to use it was wrong. Only NR^» (Network Rail - home page) contractors were allowed on it. OCC should have insisted that a diversion was supplied before issuing the temporary (4 months) closure notice. And the next bridge along which carries a bridleway has been closed for 7 months with no diversionary route.

I'm sorry for any misunderstanding / offence that may have been caused.  Chris.