MP and Network Rail in talks over Thatcham bridge
Newbury MP Laura Farris is entering discussions with ministers and Network Rail for a bridge at Thatcham level crossing.
She met with staff at the Colthrop rail crossing control box yesterday morning (Friday) to ask questions and better understand its operations.
The Thatcham level crossing is currently used by around 9,800 vehicles and 450 pedestrians on an average weekday.
Around 140 rail movements also pass over the level crossing on a typical weekday.
The Thatcham level crossing is a manually controlled barrier, controlled from the Colthrop Crossing Signal Box.
A crossing keeper operates the level crossings, observing CCTV whilst the level crossing is being closed to road traffic.
Thatcham level crossing is closed for longer periods than other level crossings with staff reporting an average wait time of 10 – 15 minutes – and sometimes half an hour for those at the back of queues.
One of the reasons for this long wait is the signal location. The signal protecting Thatcham level crossing for trains travelling towards Reading is over a mile from Thatcham level crossing.
So even for the fastest trains, an extra minute is added onto road closure times.
The passing of freight trains over what is a commercial Berks and Hants line also adds to the wait times.
These trains are permitted to operate at 60mph or 45mph and there is three times more freight traffic using this stretch of railway now, compared to 15 years ago.
The introduction of a railway bridge at Thatcham has been attempted before and gained traction in 1982 and 2022.
More recently housing developer The Colthrop Village Consortium had put forward plans for 950 homes south of the railway line which came with the promise of a railway bridge.
The proposed bridge would come off a new roundabout at Pipers Way and into roads at the housing development leading on to Crookham Hill.
However, one of the obstacles in securing an appropriate location for a bridge has – historically – been flood risks in the area.
Last month Mrs Farris said a bridge over the Thatcham crossing was the only realistic solution to the congestion problems after raising the issue at the House of Commons in a Business Questions session.
She asked leader of the House Penny Mordaunt whether she would ask the transport secretary Mark Harper to support such an endeavour.
She raised the issue again in Parliament earlier this week. (Wednesday).
Mrs Farris said: “My bus campaign [Didcot bus route] went well and this one is my next big infrastructure project.”
When asked why she was only now pursuing this project Mrs Farris told Newbury Today: “When I was first elected we had the pandemic so I was not looking at infrastructure in a serious way.
“That’s behind us now and this is the time to focus on it.
“When I came in, the bridge [discussion] had also reached the end of the road.
“It had gone back to the drawing board.
“I don’t want to repeat the mistakes of last time.
“Now is the right time to look at this.”
After addressing Parliament, she had also said: "The Thatcham level crossing causes unacceptable delays to far too many residents.
“I know that many of you have called for a bridge and that these plans have never quite got off the ground for one reason or another.
“It’s time to change that.”