Two West Berkshire railway bridges re-opened after four month delay

The bridges, the A340 bridge and Beenham Lockside Crescent bridge in Aldermaston, were closed in March as part of the wider scheme to electrify the Great Western main line.
However, it was only when Network Rail started the works that they realised the area was not in a suitable condition to support the replacement bridges.
A decision was made to redesign and reconstruct both bridges, adding a further four month closure to the bridges and local roads.
One of the companies affected by the closure was family-business, White Tower Nursery in Station Road.
Joint owner, Crissy Clemson, said that the roadworks had had a "significant impact" on her business and that she now had no idea what 2013 would bring.
She said: "What we would normally find is that we would get a lot of passing trade, in addition to the regular people who come in - that has virtually dried up.
"We are quietly confident we will get some people back but people have also found alternative routes and we don't know whether they will come back.
"There's a great deal of uncertainty still."
At the time of the closures, some local businesses said the delays had affected trade as a 7.5-tone weight limit was placed on Frouds Lane meaning large vehicles needing access to the Aldermaston area from the A4 would have to take the A4 to Reading and from there to Burghfield.
Similarly, vehicles from the Aldermaston area would have to use Reading Road to Burghfield and then rejoin the A4 at Calcot.
Manager of Aldermaston Recycling Ltd at Old Stocks Farm, Steve Quinn, said the disruption had lead to a loss of trade because of both travel time and extra fuel expenditure.
He said: "It (the bridges) was closed for six months and there was no viable alternative once Frouds Lane closed - there was no thought put into it.
"It had a financial impact on us.
"We are certainly hoping to get back on track but we will have to take every opportunity we can."
Chairman of Aldermaston Parish Council, Dave Shirt, said: "The businesses suffered losses; it really hit them hard.
"How long it takes to rebuild depends on the businesses; I feel very sorry for the businesses."
Network Rail said that any business wishing to make a claim for compensation was entitled to do so, and each case would be determined on its own merits.
Spokeswoman, Sam Kelly, said: "The situation in Aldermaston was unforeseen as the structural issues with both bridges were only uncovered when the works began.
"We do understand that work was disruptive to local businesses and apologise for the inconvenience caused.
"Over the last few weeks, we have been working with them to limit the impact of the bridge closures."
Both Mr Quinn and Mrs Clemson said that once they looked at how much of a financial affect the closures had had on their companies, they would then decide whether to move forward with a compensation claim.