[3] As well as passenger trains, the line over the bridge carries freight from the Port of Southampton to distribution centres in the Midlands and North of England.

[10] The original bridge, which opened to traffic in 1844, was constructed of timber but quickly proved to be inadequate, thus work on its replacement began a decade later.

[14] During March 2022, sinking of the south abutment was detected and a temporary speed restriction of 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) was imposed on traffic.

An attempt to remedy the situation by injecting grout into the structure failed to solve the problem, and at the end of March the speed restriction was reduced to 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h).

[15] On 3 April 2023, the viaduct was closed to all rail traffic, with a bus replacement service operating between Didcot Parkway and Oxford stations.

However, they calculated that the temporary solution would take almost as long to complete as total replacement of the abutment,[20] and on 10 April 2023 they specified the re-opening date as 10 June 2023.