Network Rail has thanked passengers for their patience after reopening the Buxton line following an eleven-day closure for major improvements in Whaley Bridge in the High Peak.

Today (Wednesday 1 March), trains are running again between Stockport suburb Hazel Grove and Buxton in Derbyshire. The footpath below the bridge has also reopened, four days earlier than originally scheduled.

The closure, to enable railway engineers to replace a Victorian railway bridge, had been scheduled to last for ten days, but was extended by a day due to unexpected complications with demolishing the old structure.

Network Rail is spending £5.1m on replacing and rebuilding the 160-year-old heritage structure. The work will secure the railway link for several decades. Work during the closure began on Saturday 18 February, and was carried out day and night by ninety workers from fifteen separate contractors. The work involved:

• removing the old railway lines
• demolishing the old concrete and cast iron bridge structure, removing 45 tonnes of cast iron
• using cranes to move the new steel into place
• construction of a new bridge deck from pre-cast concrete panels
• reinstating the railway.

Work continues on the new bridge, including painting, masonry work and road sign installation. To facilitate this, Buxton Road will remain closed to traffic until Friday 31 March. The project is expected to be complete by April 2023.Network Rail, High Peak Borough Council and Historic England worked to ensure that the work took maximum consideration of the heritage status of the bridge, which was built in 1863. Around one third of the original structure has been preserved, with new additions created at a specialist factory in Lanarkshire, Scotland. You can find out more about some of the conservation work carried out across the railway network here.

Helena Williams, Network Rail project manager, said: “I’d really like to thank passengers and local people for their patience while we’ve been making Buxton Road bridge fit for the future. I do hope that when people see this new structure they will be impressed and understand why we’ve had to carry out this essential work.

“We will still be working on the underside of the bridge throughout March so road diversions will still be in place, but I’m pleased to say we’ve been able to reopen the footpath today instead of Sunday as we had originally expected, reconnecting the town’s main thoroughfare for pedestrians.”

Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern, said: “All investment in rail infrastructure is to be welcomed and I would like to thank customers for their patience and understanding whilst these improvements have been made between Hazel Grove and Buxton.”