West Coast Main Line reopens after work in Stockport concludes

The West Coast Main Line has reopened between Stockport and Staffordshire after a three week closure to enable the demolition and replacement of the Greek Street Bridge.

The line was completely closed to rail traffic to enable the £20 million project to replace the aging railway bridge. The 50-mile closure of the line also permitted Network Rail to carry out improvements to bridges, tracks, overhead lines and lineside structures across Staffordshire and Cheshire.

• 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 at Greek Street, 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.