Thursday 14 Jun 2018
Passengers advised to plan ahead as latest stage of Great North Rail Project takes place
- Region & Route:
- | North West & Central
Passengers travelling in the Greater Manchester area and from Manchester to Yorkshire and the North East are reminded to check before they travel this weekend as upgrades to the railway take place.
On Saturday 16 June and Sunday 17 June Network Rail engineers will be working round-the-clock carrying out a project of improvement work between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge. A replacement bus service will run between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge via Ashton-under-Lyne.
The improvement work includes:
Testing and commissioning of a signal and railway crossover at Ashburys
Track improvement work in the Ashton Moss area
Essential drainage work through Ashton Station
The project is part of the Railway Upgrade Plan, providing customers with a bigger, better more reliable railway. The work will help increase lines speeds between Manchester and Stalybridge, helping to provide faster journeys. The work at Ashburys will help railway timetable flexibility by providing more access for trains in and out of the train depot at Ardwick. The track drainage at Ashton is key to prolonging the life of the track and will help improve train performance. Work on signalling and drainage will make journeys more reliable.
Richard Hockney, project manager for Network Rail, London North Western route said: “As part of the Great North Rail Project, this work will help us move towards a more modern railway. Not only are we aiming to improve the line speed between Manchester and Stalybridge but a new signal and route will be installed at Ashburys, providing a more reliable service within the area.”
There’s also work taking place at Standedge Aqueduct in Marsden this weekend. This includes dismantling the bridge deck of the Grade II listed aqueduct and installing a temporary structure.
Due to the nature of the work, fewer services are able to run and diversionary routes are in place, as well as some bus replacement services.
Passengers using either route over the weekend are strongly advised to plan their journey, allow additional time and to check before they travel with their train operator or via National Rail Enquiries. www.nationalrail.co.uk
Notes to Editors
Detailed train information:
- There will be two TransPennine Express services each hour between Manchester and Leeds, one of which will call at Huddersfield.
- There is a bus replacement service for those travelling between Huddersfield and Stalybridge only.
- There is a bus replacement service from Manchester Piccadilly to Stalybridge and onto Huddersfield via Greenfield
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office - North West & Central Region
07740 782954
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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