The
Victorian
railway
viaduct


which
spans
the
Thames
south
of
Oxford
has
reopened
a
day
earlier
than
planned,
after
weeks
of
major
reconstruction
was
completed.

Engineers
have
had
to
rebuild
the
south
abutment
of
Nuneham
Viaduct,
which
was
built
in
1856
and
showed
dangerous
signs
of
movement
in
early
April,
closing
the
busy
line
between
Oxford
and
Didcot
Parkway.
All
through
traffic
had
to
stop,
including
40
freight
trains
a
day,
which
were
diverted.
Passengers
had
to
use
replacement
buses,
while
Chiltern
Railways
services
between
Oxford
and
London
via
Bicester
have
been
much
busier.

The
first
passenger
train
across
the
bridge
this
morning
was
a
shuttle
service
from
Didcot
Parkway
to
Oxford.

Network
Rail
said
about
800
people
have
worked
nearly
60,000
hours
since
the
first
week
of
April.
In
the
past
week,
the
150-tonne
bridge
has
been
lowered
on
to
the
new
abutment
so
that
the
tracks
and
cables
could
be
reinstated.

The
work
has
been
described
as
complex
and
challenging,
requiring
some
heavy
engineering.

Twenty-four
steel
piles,
each
15m
long,
were
driven
into
the
river
bed,
and
another
eight
were
driven
up
to
20m
into
the
embankment.A
750-tonne
crane
was
used
and
4,500
tonnes
of
material
was
removed,
to
be
replaced
by
another
5,500
tonnes
for
the
new
embankment.

The
job
isn’t
quite
over.
Engineers
will
remain
at
the
site
for
another
12
weeks
to
finish
the
work
completely.

Network
Rail
capital
delivery
director
Stuart
Calvert
said:
‘We’re
extremely
pleased
to
be
able
to
reopen
the
railway
through
Nuneham
ahead
of
schedule. 

‘A
complex
and
challenging
repair
like
this
would
normally
take
two
to
three
years
to
complete,
but
thanks
to
the
hard
work
and
dedication
of
our
talented
teams
of
engineers,
and
industry
experts,
this
major
project
has
been
turned
around
in
just
under
ten
weeks.

‘Once
again,
I
would
like
to
thank
our
passengers,
freight
customers,
local
community
and
our
industry
partners
for
their
patience,
understanding
and
support
whilst
we
carried
out
this
work,
which
will
protect
this
important
rail
link
for
generations
to
come.’