Railway Herald
Arriva Trains Class 175 No. 175008 crosses Loughor Bridge with the 15:30 Manchester Piccadily to Pembroke Dock service on 28th June 2012. Work is already in progress to replace the existing bridge. The Loughor viaduct dates from 1860 and was built to carry two tracks. The original structure was built completely in timber and was engineered by Brunel and K. E. Fletcher. The timber was later replaced with wrought iron, and then with steel plate. The viaduct sits on a five mile section of track between Cockett and Duffryn which was reduced to single track operation in 1986 to save on maintenance costs. This section of track will be re-doubled duing 2012/2013 to allow for an increase in the number of trains using this stretch of line.
With the re-doubling of railway tracks between Cockett West Junction and Duffryn West Juntion, Network Rail plans to rebuild the Loughor railway viaduct. The existing grade two listed structure is unable to take the weight of two trains at once. Elements of the current structure will be relocated on railway land just to the west. The new structure is due to be commissioned in Spring 2013.
Yarisman
