UK’s Longest Rail Bridge – Culmination of 10 years Work

The company responsible for overseeing the controversial high-speed rail project said the end of construction marked “the culmination of more than ten years” of work.

The UK’s HS2 high-speed rail project has completed construction of the country’s longest rail bridge after lowering the final deck segment of the 3.4km Colne Valley Viaduct into place.

The structure, one of the largest pieces of infrastructure built for HS2, will carry trains across the valley by the M25 motorway and has taken just over two years to complete, with work beginning in May 2022.

HS2 Ltd’s senior project manager Billy Ahluwalia said:

“Lowering the Colne Valley Viaduct’s final deck segment into place today marks the culmination of more than ten years of planning, design and construction.

“I pay tribute to the dedicated team that has delivered a bridge that is both the longest on HS2 and has become the United Kingdom’s longest railway bridge.”

The new rail bridge takes over from the 3.3km Tay Bridge as the UK’s longest after almost 140 years of the Scottish bridge holding the record and will now move into the rail systems installation phase as part of the HS2 project’s preparations to begin full services by 2033.

Source: Railway Technology