Railway bridges in Europe are exposed to increasing loads and higher speeds. There is a need to improve their capacity for the passenger and freight transport. In most cases the latter can be achieved through proper structural assessment, determination of the true behaviour of the structure, strengthening of certain sections or by monitoring critical properties. At the same time, new approaches can be applied in order to improve the performance: e.g. a probabilistic approach for loads and resistance.

Codes for bridge design are developed to consider all the uncertainties that are present in the construction phase of a structure. These codes are also often used for the evaluation of existing bridges. However, far better information on material and structural properties is available for an existing structure than for one not yet built. Nevertheless the same factors of safety are often applied to existing structures as to the ones being constructed. Many bridges can be allowed to carry greater loads and faster trains if better codes and methods for assessment are used.

Researches have been carried out in the field, but there is still a need for further integration, innovative development and testing in order to establish procedures for the safe and effective management and upgrading of railway bridges.

This project indicated it was possible to save about 2% of the capital value of the bridges by allowing increased loads and extending residual service life.