Hungerford Railway Bridge, London

Hungerford Railway Bridge is easy to overlook. Its dark Victorian girders sit between the bright cables of the Golden Jubilee Bridges, while trains hurry across the Thames toward Charing Cross station.

Look more closely and it becomes one of London’s most interesting crossings. Parts of an earlier bridge designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel survive beneath it, while other pieces of that lost bridge ended up more than 100 miles away in Bristol.

Why was Hungerford Railway Bridge built?

The first bridge at this location was not built for trains. Brunel’s Hungerford Suspension Bridge opened in 1845, providing a pedestrian route between the South Bank and Hungerford Market on the north side of the Thames.

The arrival of the railway changed its future. The South Eastern Railway wanted to extend its route from London Bridge to a new central London terminus at Charing Cross. The company purchased Hungerford Market and the suspension bridge in 1859, then removed most of Brunel’s crossing to make way for the railway.

Sir John Hawkshaw designed the replacement bridge. Construction took place during the early 1860s, and the new crossing opened with Charing Cross station on January 11, 1864. The history of Charing Cross station and Hungerford Bridge explains how the railway reached the heart of London.

What happened to Brunel’s original bridge?

Brunel’s suspension bridge disappeared from the skyline, but it was not completely lost.

Two of its original supports were retained and incorporated into the railway crossing. They were altered and extended as the new structure developed, but they still connect today’s bridge with the crossing that opened in 1845.

The suspension chains had an even longer journey. They were removed, taken to Bristol and reused during the completion of Clifton Suspension Bridge. This means that pieces of the first Hungerford Bridge survive in two different cities.

How was Hungerford Railway Bridge constructed?

The bridge has nine spans formed from wrought iron lattice girders. The crisscrossed metalwork creates a rigid structure capable of carrying heavy railway traffic while keeping the individual components relatively slender.

The girders are supported by cast iron piers in the river and brick abutments at the banks. Historic England records the crossing as two railway bridges joined by lateral trusses rather than one completely uniform structure.

The first section opened in 1864 with four railway tracks and pedestrian paths. It was widened in 1886 as the railway needed more capacity, creating the side by side arrangement that Network Rail now records as Bridges 7 and 7A.

You can compare its lattice construction with the plate girders of nearby Cannon Street Railway Bridge and the enclosed railway deck of Blackfriars Railway Bridge.

Could pedestrians once cross the railway bridge?

Yes. The original railway crossing included pedestrian paths beside the tracks. These were narrow routes attached directly to the railway structure rather than the spacious crossings seen today.

Pedestrians initially paid a toll to use them. The toll was abolished in 1878, but railway expansion gradually took space away from people on foot. One path was converted for railway use during the nineteenth century, leaving a single narrow walkway on the downstream side.

That remaining path became increasingly unsuitable for the number of people moving between Charing Cross and the South Bank. It was eventually replaced by the much wider Golden Jubilee Bridges, which opened in 2002.

Are Hungerford Bridge and the Golden Jubilee Bridges the same?

No. The names are often used together because the three crossings sit immediately beside one another, but they perform different jobs.

Hungerford Railway Bridge is the central Victorian structure carrying trains into Charing Cross. The two Golden Jubilee Bridges are modern pedestrian crossings positioned on either side of it.

The pedestrian bridges share the river crossing and make use of the older bridge’s supports, but they have their own decks, cables and outward leaning pylons. Our Golden Jubilee Bridges profile explores those two footbridges in more detail.

Can you walk across Hungerford Railway Bridge?

You cannot walk on the railway bridge itself. Public pedestrian access is provided by the Golden Jubilee Bridges on either side.

Walking across either footbridge provides one of the clearest close views of Hungerford Railway Bridge. From there, you can see its lattice girders, passing trains and the older supports rising from the Thames.

The crossing also provides views toward the London Eye, the Palace of Westminster and the City of London. It connects the South Bank with Victoria Embankment and Charing Cross, making it both a useful everyday route and an excellent place to watch London moving around the river.

Why is Hungerford Railway Bridge being restored?

Network Rail began a major refurbishment program in January 2025. The Victorian wrought iron has been exposed to river weather for more than 160 years, so regular protection is essential if the bridge is to continue carrying trains safely.

The work includes cleaning and painting the bridge, testing the pins that join its structural members and replacing protective end caps. Network Rail says the original metalwork will be retained and refurbished rather than replaced.

Materials and waste are being moved by barge where possible. This reduces the number of construction vehicles traveling through central London while work continues above the river.

Trains are expected to continue using the crossing through most of the project, although some weekend closures may be required. Network Rail currently expects the Hungerford Railway Bridge refurbishment to be completed by the end of winter 2028.