Network Rail has announced plans to fully refurbish the footbridge at Ravenglass station on the Cumbrian Coast Line.
The much-loved footbridge, first constructed in 1849, was due to be repaired this autumn with the timber deck being replaced. However, when engineers started work on the bridge, they found the condition was worse than expected and so a full refurbishment and repair is needed.
Work will start on site in February 2025, with the whole structure removed and transported to a repair facility to be worked on. This includes being fully repainted, restoring it to how it looked in its historic heyday. Doing this work away from the station means we don’t have to close the line and trains can continue to run.
The footbridge will then be bought back to site and reinstalled at the station, with the timber deck replaced, safety checks carried out and then reopened to passengers and the public in May 2025.
Unfortunately, this means the footbridge will have to remain closed until the repair work is fully complete.
Network Rail have worked with Cumberland Council and the Lake District Council to put in pedestrian diversion routes, with signage and safety barriers so people can still access both platforms during the work. Access to Raveglass and Eskdale Heritage Railway remains unaffected.
Chris Pye, Network Rail’s North West Route Infrastructure Director said: “We are sorry to disrupt passengers and the local community longer than we have planned to. We’re working hard to keep the disruption to a minimum, including taking the bridge off-site to work on it which will be quicker than working on site.”
Image credit: Network Rail
