UK's longest railway bridge
The 3.4km-long Colne Valley Viaduct, the UK's longest railway bridge, is now structurally complete.
Colne Valley Viaduct will carry the HS2 London-Birmingham rail line over a series of roads, lakes, the River Colne and the Grand Union Canal to the northwest of London.
Construction of the 10 metre-tall viaduct started in March 2021, led by HS2’s main works contractor for this section of the route, Align, a joint venture between Bouygues Travaux Publics, VolkerFitzpatrick and Sir Robert McAlpine. The last of the giant pre-cast deck segments was lowered into place in September 2024.
Since then, Align has installed parapet sections, noise barriers, a structural health monitoring system and waterproofing and drainage.
It means that the 2.25km Tay Bridge, linking Fife and Dundee, has finally ceded the crown of Britain’s longest rail bridge, a record it had held since 1887.
Video uploaded on 09/09/2025 12:00am.
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