Alderton Tunnel

The Alderton Tunnel sits on the South Wales Main Line in England, on a stretch of line between Swindon and Bristol Parkway. The tunnel, which is 506 yards long, was opened on 1 January 1903 along with the line between Wootton Bassett Junction and Badminton, that being the first section of the South Wales & Bristol Direct Line of the Great Western Railway.[1]

Building of the tunnel commenced at least two years before 1903, as the rise in railway workers boarding in Alderton village can be seen in the 1901 Census.[2]

As part of the modernisation of the Great Western main line, the route through the tunnel closed from 19 August to 15 September 2017 to allow overhead electrification equipment to be fitted.[3][4]

References
  1. MacDermot, E.T. (1931). History of the Great Western Railway, vol. II: 1863–1921. Paddington: Great Western Railway. p. 425. OCLC 55853736.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. "1901 Census: Alderton" (PDF). Wiltshire OPC. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  3. "Great Western Rail upgrades affecting south Wales begin". BBC News Online. 19 August 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  4. "August work set to bring new trains to Wales and the West". Network Rail. Retrieved 19 August 2017. Swindon to Bristol Parkway – Piling will take place to install overhead line equipment (OLE) for electrification, alongside OLE installation through Chipping Sodbury and Alderton tunnels.

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