Media centre

Saturday 4 Jul 2026

Passengers thanked after major Manchester Victoria engineering work completed

Region & Route:

North West & Central

Rail passengers have been thanked for their patience after key engineering work was completed between Rochdale and Manchester Victoria.

This week, teams from Network Rail and main contractor Kier have been working to complete track renewals and signalling upgrades ahead of the construction of a major new turnback just east of Victoria station.

Once completed next year, the new Brewery Junction turnback will mean space can be freed up at Victoria, allowing more flexibility, especially in times of disruption.

During the work, trains have not been running between Rochdale and Manchester, with replacement buses operating instead.

Lorna Samways, senior sponsor for Network Rail, said: “We would like to thank passengers for their patience during this week. There is never an ideal time to close the railway, but this work is a really important step in the construction of the new turnback at Brewery Junction.  

“Once it is complete, it will give our teams more options at Manchester Victoria and improve reliability for passengers in the long term.”

Boguslaw Kozlowski, project manager for rail at Kier Infrastructure said: “Over the last week, our team successfully delivered key track, re-signalling and overhead line improvements that mark an important milestone in the delivery of this new turnback facility. 

“Extensive planning went into this work alongside Network Rail and our supply chain partners, and we’re pleased it has been delivered safely and on schedule.” 

To find out more about the major upgrades happening on the railway across the North West, visit: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/our-work/our-regions/north-west-and-central/west-coast-main-line-upgrades/.