Temporary £200k 'ugly' footbridge set for town

Network Rail said the temporary footbridge will be in place for 18 months

A £200,000 temporary footbridge over a Cornish railway station is being installed to ease waiting times at the town's level crossing.

Network Rail (NR) has been working to end delays for traffic and pedestrians who are trying to cross to the other side of Lostwithiel, since 2018.

Some local people fear the temporary structure will never be replaced with a proper footbridge and complain it is "ugly".

NR said it will be in place for 18 months while it works to provide a more permanent footbridge for the town.

Bogdan Lupu from Network Rail said it understood the urgency of a footbridge for Lostwithiel

The waiting times for people and motorists trying to navigate the level crossing can reach up to 20 minutes particularly when freight trains are running.

Rowan Baker says her children have missed the train to Truro for school countless times because they could not access the platform when the gates were down.

"There has been a lot of controversy about putting a temporary bridge in," she said.

She said it was a "waste of money... [I'd] rather have a permanent one straight away".

Fellow local resident Lindsay Southgate said the level crossing could be awkward and it was "a bit ugly".

"It's good for those who need it", she said.

"I hope it's not a permanent temporary bridge because that would be quite sad."

"It looks like a giant Meccano kit."

The first stages of the build were carried out at the weekend

There was a plan to move the former Totnes railway footbridge to Lostwithiel but NR decided it was not possible, and another proposed design also didn't pass safety tests.

Bogdan Lupu, NR's industry programme director said: "It would have taken more time to accommodate that footbridge and now we have moved to a traditional structure for Network Rail and that's going to be installed in the next 18 months.

"Obviously time is an issue but we need to be aware we have to go through our safety validation process...we are accountable for the safety of our passengers and our community."

The temporary footbridge has been installed because NR said it did not want to keep the community waiting longer than necessary.

People with disabilities will still have to use the level crossing.

"We have been consulting with various local organisations and explained the challenges here for funding and we do have an agreement from the local community", Mr Lupu said.

He said a lift would be considered at a later date subject to securing additional funding.

Contractors are still working on the temporary footbridge which will open at the end of August.