UK Construction and Law

A 1,200 tonne crane will lift a failing footbridge off the West Coast Main Line

By Staff Writer  |  5 September 2026

Routine inspection found the Oxhey Grange footbridge near Watford had deteriorated faster than expected. It was closed in July. On 20 September all four main line tracks and the Overground beneath them shut so it can be taken out in one lift.

Network Rail confirmed on 4 September 2026 that the Oxhey Grange footbridge, which crosses the West Coast Main Line south of Watford Junction, will be removed. The structure was closed to the public on 26 July after routine inspections revealed deterioration more rapid than had been expected. Further assessment since then has established that it cannot be left in place.

The removal is booked for a single possession. All four West Coast Main Line tracks and the London Overground Lioness line beneath the bridge close from midnight on Saturday 19 September until 4pm on Sunday 20 September. The span will be lifted out in one operation by a heavy lift crane 100 metres tall and rated to 1,200 tonnes. Network Rail says that approach reduces the amount of time the railway must be closed against the alternative removal methods.

What it does to the timetable

Passengers between London, the West Midlands, North West England and Scotland are being told to avoid travel if they can. Avanti West Coast services to and from Scotland and North West England will start and terminate at Milton Keynes Central, with additional services starting and terminating at Rugby. London Northwestern Railway will run between Milton Keynes Central and points north, with an hourly shuttle between Milton Keynes Central and Watford Junction. The Lioness line drops to two trains an hour between Euston and Willesden Junction. The Bakerloo line runs as normal. Updated timetables for the Sunday reach journey planners on Monday 7 September.

Following a routine safety inspection, Network Rail closed the footbridge at Oxhey Grange after identifying significant deterioration of the structure. The safety of residents, bridge users, railway colleagues and passengers remains our top priority, and further assessments have shown the bridge now needs to be removed as soon as possible.

Gary Walsh, director for Network Rail's West Coast South route

Jonny Wiseman, customer experience director at London Northwestern Railway, said the work is needed to maintain the safety of the railway, thanked customers for their patience, and encouraged anyone travelling on the date to plan their route.

The interest for a structures engineer

Two dates set the pace of this job. The bridge was closed on 26 July and the removal is booked for 20 September. Eight weeks covers the assessment, the decision to remove rather than repair, the crane and craneage design, the possession booking and the timetable rewrite.

The single lift is the choice worth noting. A 1,200 tonne class crawler needs a very large hardstanding, an assembly area, ground bearing pressure calculations against whatever is under the crane pad, and an exclusion zone that in this case takes in four electrified running lines and a fifth beneath. The alternative, cutting the deck down in sections over successive weekend possessions, costs less in plant and far more in disruption, and each additional possession is another exposure of people to an open railway under an already unsound structure.

The replacement is a separate exercise. Network Rail says it is continuing to develop proposals for a new bridge and will engage with the local community as that work progresses, which is the standard position where a crossing has been taken away before its successor is designed.

A routine inspection in the summer has produced a national timetable change in September. That is the ordinary consequence of a structure on a four track main line being found worse than the file said it was.