Horse riders fear their animals could be too scared to use a new £1.5million-plus rail crossing bridge – and want officials to consider a tunnel instead.

The bridleway bridge for horse riders, cyclists and walkers is to be built over the Felixstowe-Ipswich line as a safety measure as part of a £58m project to close six crossings and dual 1.4km of the track for extra railfreight.

Network Rail says it has consulted the British Horse Society to ensure the bridge design is safe, but local riders have told community leaders they are unhappy with the solution.

A Suffolk Coastal council report said “local riders had said that they would not use the bridge” even though there would be infill panels to prevent the horses from seeing the trains as they passed.

The riders would rather the council pursued a tunnel and this request is to be discussed by planning officers at a meeting with Network Rail.

One woman who frequently rides tracks in the Felixstowe and Trimley area told this newspaper: “A lot of the riders are very concerned. It will be completely alien to the horse to go up a ramp off a country path and through an enclosed space, possibly hearing but not seeing a noisy train – some will be spooked by it.”

The district council is to object to the bridge for a variety of reasons – but mainly because of its stark design and the concern over its impact on the landscape.

The council would have preferred an earth embankment to screen the structure or a different form of bridge or a tunnel at Gun Lane, Trimley.

It said: “This is disappointing as it appears that Network Rail have based their decision solely on cost, simplicity, and ease of construction rather than a consideration and appreciation of the landscape and visual impacts of their proposal.”

Network Rail said: “Since the public consultation event in November, we have presented our designs to the British Horse Society to ensure that the design is safe.

“Taking into account the advice of the British Horse Society, mounting blocks will be provided to give riders the option of dismounting before travelling over the bridge. The railway facing sides of the bridge will be solid infill and 1.8m high so that horses do not get startled by trains. The width of the bridge will be 3.5m to allow horses and other users to pass unimpeded.”