Major repair work completed at Royal Border Bridge in Berwick

Engineers have been working on the 170-year-old structure since January 2022 to repair all 28 arches of the Grade I listed Royal Border Bridge, which sits across the River Tweed and transports freight goods and passengers between England and Scotland.

In November 2022, the opportunity was spotted to make further repairs to the structure.

Teams used an innovative rope access system to complete the repairs, rather than building scaffolding spanning the entire bridge.

This saved around £5million on the overall cost of the project and meant that the bridge remained fully open to services on this vital rail route.

Because the Royal Border Bridge – which was opened in 1850 by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert – is Grade I listed, Network Rail worked closely with Historic England to make sure the brickwork is in keeping with the rich heritage of the structure.

Jon Calvert, principal portfolio manager at Network Rail, said: “It is great that this major project to restore the iconic Royal Border Bridge has now been completed.

“By working innovatively, we’ve managed to make major savings and keep a vital part of the railway open to passengers during the programme of work.

“The repairs will mean that we won’t need to complete any major maintenance work for the next 30 years and I’m delighted that the bridge is back to its former glory.”

The project time was extended as upon close inspection, specialist engineers decided to carry out even more repairs than originally planned to strengthen the bridge further.

With over 2.5 million bricks stretching up to 40 metres high, the full extent of the repairs was hard to pinpoint from the ground.

Berwick North county councillor Catherine Seymour said: “It is great news that all works to the Royal Border Bridge by Story Contracting has been completed for Network Rail and the new road pathway is now fully opened.

“This restoration will prolong its life for many years for the trains that journey from the top to bottom of our kingdom.

“It has been interesting watching this restoration from the riverside on the Tweed and many thanks to Story for keeping us well informed and doing such a good job.”