Nuneham Viaduct | |
|---|---|
 Nuneham Viaduct from downstream | |
| Coordinates | 51°40′10″N 1°14′27″W / 51.669456°N 1.240878°W |
| Carries | Cherwell Valley Line |
| Crosses | River Thames |
| Locale | Abingdon, Oxfordshire |
| Maintained by | Network Rail |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 99 yards (91 m) |
| Height | 15 feet 9 inches (4.80 m)[1] |
| History | |
| Opened | 1907 [2] |
| Location | |
 | |
Nuneham Viaduct,[3] also known as Nuneham Railway Bridge and the Black Bridge is near the town of Abingdon-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, England. It is a two-span, bowstring truss bridge that carries the Didcot to Oxford section of the Cherwell Valley Line across the River Thames between Abingdon Lock and Sandford Lock. Its name is derived from the neighbouring Nuneham House.[4] The total length is 99 yards (91 m); the southern and northern ends are respectively 57 miles 24 chains (92.22 km) and 57 miles 29 chains (92.32 km) from Paddington (via Didcot station).[3]
As well as passenger trains, the line over the bridge carries freight from the Port of Southampton to distribution centres in the Midlands and North of England.[5] By 2023, up to forty freight trains per day were using the route,[6][7] which is part of the core UK intermodal freight network,[8] and was to have been part of the proposed Electric Spine.
From March 2022, the bridge suffered a progressive failure with sinking of the southern end of the southern span. This led to its temporary closure to all rail traffic on 3 April 2023 and a major remedial project being undertaken; the line was reopened to traffic on 9 June 2023.[9]
- ^ "Bridge heights on the River Thames". River Thames Alliance. January 2008. Archived from the original on 24 January 2008.
- ^ "Nuneham Viaduct". The Great Western Railway Magazine. October 1908.
- ^ a b Padgett, David (June 2018) [1989]. Munsey, Myles (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 3: Western & Wales (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. map 14A. ISBN 978-1-9996271-0-2.
- ^ "The River Thames - Its Bridges". the-river-thames.co.uk. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ "Vital English freight route closed over bridge fears". RailFreight.com. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ^ "Didcot Parkway - Oxford rail line shut until 'late April' for viaduct checks". BBC News. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ^ "GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood". Twitter. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ^ "Freight UK Base Map Rail Freight Commodities" (PDF). Network Rail. March 2021.
- ^ "Restoring Nuneham Viaduct, Oxfordshire". Balfour Beatty. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
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