Barnes to Feltham via Hounslow Upgrades

We have finished our upgrade work to Barnes Bridge, creating more reliable journeys for passengers

What work is taking place?

Barnes Bridge

This year, we returned to Barnes Bridge completing phase 2 of our strengthening work. We removed the middle girder on each span of the bridge and replaced them with brand new girders. The middle girders do most of the heavy lifting when supporting the tracks and trains above, acting as the backbone of each span.

We also replaced wheel timbers under the track for services heading away from London.

Chiswick Footbridge

Our engineers continued refurbishing and strengthening the passenger footbridge at Chiswick station. This includes installation of new steel work, removal of the temporary scaffold support, water-jetting and re-painting.

While progress has been steady, recent inspections have revealed that the structure’s condition is significantly worse than initially anticipated. As a result, additional repairs are required to ensure the bridge meets current safety standards. We now expect the works to be completed by mid-February 2026.

Why was the work needed?

We replaced the girders under the spans of Barnes Bridge as new girders will ensure the bridge can continue to carry trains over the Thames well into the future. The new girders will allow faster, heavier trains to run over the bridge, including freight as well as our heavier maintenance vehicles. This means that we will be able to respond to serious faults on the line faster.

This is a continuation of the work that we carried out last year between 28 July to 2 August 2024. We renewed and strengthened the pins that join the steelwork together, allowing us to lift a speed restriction from the bridge. This meant that trains could run faster over the bridge, improving the reliability of journeys. We also renewed the wheel timbers beneath the track running towards London.

Check out the video below for a summary of the work we did last year:

In Chiswick, the substantial work we are carrying out on the footbridge will mean that we won’t need to continue to keep coming back to the bridge to carry out minor maintenance work, reducing disruption to passengers and improving their experience at the station.

E-Leaflet

Contact us

If you have any questions, please call our dedicated 24-hour National Helpline on 03457 11 41 41 or visit our contact us page.