West Coast Main Line reopens after three-week closure

The West Coast Main Line has reopened its Manchester spur through Cheshire after a three week closure to enable a major bridge replacement.

The line was completely closed to rail traffic during much of August between Staffordshire and Stockport to enable the £20 million project to replace the aging Greek Street Bridge in Stockport town centre.

With no trains running along a 50-mile stretch of the line through Macclesfield and Poynton, and as far south as Stone in Staffordshire, Network Rail was also able to carry out a host of smaller improvements projects along the route. These included:

• Track and points renewal in Macclesfield
• Platform reconstruction at Poynton station in Cheshire
• Footbridge renovations at Longport station in Stoke-on-Trent
• River Trent Viaduct waterproofing in Stone
• Track upgrades at Hixon, Stone and Congleton
• Track and points renewal at Stone station 
• Level crossing upgrades at Meaford, Church Lane, and Aston-by-Stone crossings in Stone
• Track and drainage improvements near Trentham

Combined with the work in Stockport town centre (pictured), the full portfolio of work carried out by Network Rail and its partners to improve the West Coast Main Line was in excess of £43 million.

John Nixon, Network Rail Capital Delivery senior programme manager, said:

“We’d like to thank passengers impacted by this significant railway closure of the West Coast Main Line for the last three weeks. It’s allowed us to invest tens of millions of pounds and make wide ranging improvements to provide a safer and more reliable railway, benefiting journeys for passengers and freight in the future.“

Network Rail has also released footage of the first trains running through Stockport to mark the railway reopening, alongside time-lapse footage of the dismantling and reconstruction of Greek Street railway bridge over the last 21-days.