The Royal Border Bridge spans the River Tweed between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Tweedmouth in Northumberland, England. It is a Grade I listed railway viaduct built between 1847 and 1850, when it was opened by Queen Victoria. It was designed by Robert Stephenson (son of railway pioneer George Stephenson). It was built for the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway and is still in regular use today, as part of the East Coast Main Line. Despite its name, the bridge does not in fact span the border between England and Scotland, which is approximately three miles further north.

The bridge is long and constructed in stone except for brick soffits to the arches. It has 28 arches, each spanning . The railway is carried above the river level. During 1989, it was electrified as a part of the wider East Coast Main Line electrification scheme. Between 1993 and 1996, the structure underwent significant repair work for the first time in a Railtrack-led project, which was partially funded by English Heritage.

Construction

The Royal Border Bridge has its origins in the ambitions of Newcastle and Berwick Railway (N&BR) company, which was formed in 1845 under the control of the prolific railway financier and politician George Hudson. During 1847, Hudson was instrumental in the merger of the N&BR with another of his business interests, the York and Newcastle Railway (Y&NR) to form the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway (YN&BR). This combined entity sought to complete a continuous line between the British capital cities of London and Edinburgh. Originally meant to be operational by November 2010, weather conditions, particularly ice, damaged underwater cables, delaying the illumination and preventing some lights from functioning. In January 2012, Northumberland County Council filed its application for a permanent lighting system to be installed. During 2016, the bridge was fitted with colour-changing lights; the installation being completed in time for the structure's 160th anniversary.

References

  • Information from the SINE project, University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
  • Details on the repair project
  • Tweed bridges