Great Western Coffee Shop

Work is due to start this month on the new footbridge for Dawlish railway station as part of a ^1m improvement project.

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Contractors BAM Nuttall intend to begin preparatory works this month. The existing footbridge will be removed on 7 October and the new footbridge will be installed on 14 October. Completion for the whole scheme is expected to be end-November 2012.

Network Rail^s route asset manager for buildings, Simon Gyde said: ^The renewal of Dawlish Station footbridge is driven by the asset condition and safety. The existing footbridge was last reconstructed in 1937, using steel girders taken from Park Royal Station.

^Despite numerous repair schemes being carried out, the bridge suffers from the harsh marine environment, and now has significant areas of corrosion to the main girders and roof structure with poor protective paintwork and rotten timber decking.^

The footbridge will be the second fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) footbridge to be installed on the Western Route. The first was at St Austell in Cornwall in October 2007.

Plastic is being used because the steelwork of the existing footbridge has been badly corroded by the harsh marine weather conditions. The timber decking has rotted and the protective paintwork has broken down.

The plastic components are being supplied by Pipex Ltd, the Plymouth-based structural composites manufacturer, replicating the style of the original steel bridge at the grade 2 listed station.

Network Rail^s engineers considered a number of alternatives, including a complete refurbishment and strengthening scheme using traditional materials, before deciding to completely replace the existing footbridge with a plastic FRP structure.

Not only will the manufactured mouldings replicate the existing style of the original steel bridge - even down to plastic rivet heads - but it will be better able to withstand the harsh marine environment along the Dawlish seafront.

When finished, the footbridge will be painted Admiral Gray in keeping with the rest of the station. The new structure will be lighter and easier to install and will require considerably less maintenance than the footbridge it replaces.

While the work is taking place, a footbridge diversion will be in operation from the town end of the railway station. Local residents, businesses and Dawlish Town Council will be kept informed of the plans throughout the work.

The footbridge diversion will use the subway and the ramp leading to platform 2. If there is severe weather, contingency plans will be put in place to lead passengers over the Barrow level crossing.

I like the reference to the footbridge that was installed at St Austell in 2007.... erm, it was bought but it was never installed! it's still in store somewhere!

Yes I was thinking that! Do we know any reason for this?!

MP opens the UK^s First Grade II Listed Polymer Composite Station Footbridge

Newton Abbot MP Anne Marie Morris has officially opened the UK^s first Grade II listed plastic footbridge at Dawlish Station.

She cut a ribbon across the steps to the new footbridge off the main platform at the seaside station on the south coast of Devon. The footbridge was part of a ^1m improvement project.

The landmark event follows the demolition of the old steel footbridge on 7 October and the installation of the new polymer composite footbridge over the weekend of 13 and 14 October 2012.

Anne Marie Morris said: ^I am delighted to officially open the new bridge at Dawlish Railway Station.  I know people wanted to see something done about the rusting old bridge and I have been pushing to bring support for their case.  I am pleased to say that Dawlish Railway Station now has a bridge that is fit for purpose^

Patrick Hallgate, Network Rail^s Western Route Managing Director, said: ^The coastal railway line from Exeter to Newton Abbot, part of Network Rail^s Great Western main line network, is noted for its particularly scenic qualities and for being one of the most exposed in the country, constantly battling the effects of coastal erosion and salt spray-induced corrosion.

^Dawlish Station was originally designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1830 and is grade II listed. Unfortunately the station^s 17.5 metre long covered steel footbridge, reconstructed in 1937, had deteriorated beyond economic repair and any similar form of replacement probably would have met the same fate in due course.

^Its replacement is a lightweight plastic structure weighing only five tonnes, about one third the weight of the old footbridge. We are hoping that it will require considerably less maintenance than the structure it has replaced.^

First Great Western, Regional Manager West of England, Julian Crow said: ^The First Great Western station at Dawlish welcomes almost half a million people a year, and is an instantly recognisable location, appearing in hundreds of holiday and railway photographs over the years. This new footbridge provides essential access for both local travelers and visitors and is sure to stand not only the test of time but also whatever the English weather can throw at it.^

Designed by consulting engineers Tony Gee and Partners and their sub-consultant Optima Projects, the new footbridge has been constructed using modern advanced materials technology and is the first Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composite bridge installed at a mainline station in the UK and notably the first grade II listed FRP bridge.

The structure aesthetically replicates the character of the original steel structure, but provides a much lighter and more durable solution and is expected to result in considerable through-life cost savings due to reduced maintenance expenditure.

The structure was installed by main contractor BAM Nuttall and fabricated by Pipex Structural Composites of Plymouth. It mainly uses standard FRP structural profiles, produced by a process known as pultrusion, combined with parapet sandwich panels moulded by film infusion. The stairs at each end of the bridge are also moulded FRP units.