Historically the railway was celebrated as a ground-breaking advancement of the Industrial Revolution, allowing people and goods to travel long distances in short periods of time. Our proposal for Network Rail footbridge looks to expand on this tradition while celebrating the footbridge as a fun typology that is beyond functional infrastructure. By developing a catalogue of footbridge elements to suit a variety of conditions,the ‘Exquisite Express’ offers flexible designs that respond to diverse contexts (rural and urban) across the UK, celebrating the uniqueness of the place and context. Each footbridge can be tailored to address not only physical constraints but also different community representation.

Through locally sourced and prefabricated parts, our proposal envisions a bigger economy-of-scale that touches surrounding neighbourhoods; creating a legacy of interconnected manufacturers, local craft as well as possible scenarios for future maintenance.  A universal joint allows individual segments to be customised and upgraded through time, motivating a circular economy, in which elements may be repaired,recycled, up-cycled and re-appropriated. Such a system hybridises programs, events, materials and elements while fostering a network of communicating landmarks.