Media centre

Monday 27 Jun 2016

Railway line between Manchester and Buxton opens after landslip

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

The railway between Manchester and Buxton has reopened less than two weeks after a landslip closed the line at Middlewood.

Up to 6,000 tonnes of earth and material were dislodged and washed away after the flash floods during Sunday 12 and Monday 13 June when around two inches of rain fell in two hours.

Services resumed on Saturday morning meaning passengers are once again able to make their usual journeys through the area.

Network Rail’s orange army worked quickly and safely to repair the damage in less than two weeks, minimising the impact of the closure to passengers. The work involved rebuilding a section of embankment and removing track and ballast – the stone which provides the foundation of the railway – near Middlewood station.

Terry Strickland, area director for Network Rail said: “After completing the emergency repairs, the railway though Middlewood reopened on Saturday morning. The heavy rain that we experienced two weeks ago caused a significant amount of damage that required extensive work. I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we carried out these essential repairs”.

Alex Hynes, managing director for Northern said: “We’re pleased to be once again running services between Buxton and Manchester following the completion of a mammoth engineering task by Network Rail. We would like to thank our customers for their continued patience”.