A Glasgow Cross rail bridge which had a multi-million-pound refurbishment has finished ahead of schedule.

Network Rail, alongside the principal contractor for the project STORY Contracting, delivered the £3.8 million refurbishment works to the rail bridge spanning the A8 at Saltmarket near Glasgow Cross.

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Since August 2022, the team tasked with repairing the bridge had worked 20,000 hours, and added several tonnes of steelwork to strengthen and repair the bridge before painting the entire structure.

The bridge is not used for passenger trains but it is a vital route for ScotRail trains to travel to the Southside depot and it is used as a diversion for freight traffic.

Glasgow Times: Owen Ferry, Network Rail project managerOwen Ferry, Network Rail project manager (Image: Network Rail)

Owen Ferry, Network Rail Projector, spoke about the challenges that faced the engineers working on the bridge. 

He said: "One of the main challenges of delivering work at Saltmarket is the busy city location, as there are more than four and a half thousand residencies in a 500-metre radius of the bridge.

“From an early stage of the project, we engaged with the local community. And, after listening to their concerns about the rivet busting, which is one of the noisier elements of the work, we revisited our work programme.

“We liaised with ScotRail who agreed the railway could be closed during the day which allowed us to greatly reduce the amount of overnight work required through the week.

“The team has done a first-class job in renewing the bridge and finishing the work ahead of schedule, as we weren’t due to be off-sit until late August.

“I want to thank the community and local businesses for their understanding while we completed this vital improvement to the rail network.”