Network Rail to spend £200,000 renewing control equipment at Goole Swing Bridge

Network Rail is to spend £200,000 replacing power cables and 16 control units at Goole Swing Bridge, the Grade II*-listed structure that carries the railway over the River Ouse, with the line between Doncaster and Hull closed for two days in October.

Buses will replace trains between Doncaster and Hull on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October while the work is carried out, Network Rail said.

The control units are used to confirm the bridge is correctly positioned before trains cross. Network Rail said the renewal would improve the reliability of the infrastructure and cut the risk of equipment failures that could disrupt journeys.

Mark Hayles, Network Rail head of route operations, said: "This £200,000 investment at Goole Swing Bridge will replace ageing equipment with modern, more reliable components, helping us maintain a safe and dependable railway for passengers and freight customers."

The bridge

According to Network Rail, Goole Swing Bridge is one of the largest and oldest surviving railway swing bridges in the UK. It opened more than 150 years ago and still carries passenger and freight trains while swinging open to let river traffic pass along the Ouse.

Much of its machinery dates from the Victorian era, Network Rail said. The scheme announced on 8 October was issued by the infrastructure owner's Eastern region, North & East route, which described the work as part of its ongoing programme of maintenance and renewal.

Hayles said: "By renewing power cables and key control units, we're reducing the risk of faults and helping to keep trains moving reliably through this important location."

Follow-on from the 2023 refurbishment

Network Rail said the structure had a major refurbishment in summer 2023 covering its hydraulic turning and jacking systems, control systems, electricity supply and navigation lights.

Network Rail's announcement of that programme at the time said the work was scheduled to run from 3 June to 2 July 2023 and would renew the bridge's operating plant, when the structure was described as 154 years old. The 2026 release characterised the 2023 scheme as modernising the bridge's operating systems; the 2023 release said the bridge still operated using much of its original 1860s hydraulic machinery because of its Grade II* listing.

The disruption in 2023 was far longer than the two days planned this month. Buses replaced Northern trains between Doncaster and Hull from 3 to 5 June 2023 and again on 17 and 18 June, and between Goole and Hull from 6 June to 2 July apart from that weekend, Network Rail said at the time.

James Wright, senior portfolio manager at Network Rail, said in 2023 that the bridge had reliably served passengers travelling between Doncaster and Hull for over 150 years and was considered one of the finest swing bridges in Britain.

Network Rail said it owns and operates 20,000 miles of track and 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts across Britain.

What happens next

Passengers using the Doncaster to Hull route on 17 and 18 October are advised by Network Rail to check all parts of their journey with National Rail or their train operator before travelling.