Crossrail Modifications
The forthcoming Crossrail development shall see the long-delayed overhead electrification of the Great Western line between Paddington and Maidenhead or Reading. This construction work had been set to require a temporary construction depot to be created immediately next to the bridge in Guards Club Park on the Berkshire side of the bridge, but this decision has subsequently been reversed, though the bridge itself will obviously still undergo some changes in order to accommodate the Overhead line equipment. The latest Crossrail Environmental Statement states:
"The OHLE (Overhead Line Equipment) requires that supporting posts be founded on the bridge structure. These will be positioned so as not to disrupt the symmetry of the bridge. Three sets of masts will be fixed at the bridge supports and a further two sets will be fixed at the far ends of the bridge. The masts will be fixed such that they may be removed in the future without damaging the bridge as it stands today."
The report also states:
It is proposed that the OHLE over Maidenhead railway bridge will use masts with wires suspended from cantilevers, since these will be visually lighter structures than the gantries to be used along other parts of the route. The masts will however, have a significant adverse landscape impact: they will affect important views along the river and the character of the river corridor; they will affect the setting of the Riverside Conservation Area; and they will affect the setting of the listed railway bridge and the setting of the adjacent Grade I listed road bridge.
The possibility of using third rail electrification on the bridge was considered but rejected.
Read more about this topic: Maidenhead Railway Bridge