OREANDA-NEWS. Network Rail is investing more than £1bn in the north west of England to provide passengers with a better railway. To electrify the line the bridges have to be rebuilt to increase the clearance underneath to accommodate overhead lines which will power the trains.

Between now and June 2015, the five bridges that will be rebuilt and the dates the work will take place are:

- Stump Lane, Chorley: full closure already in place until 12 May 2015.
- Rawlinson Lane, Adlington: full closure already in place until 22 May 2015
- Chorley Road, Heath Charnock: full closure already in place until 19 June 2015
- Station Road, Blackrod: full closure from 2 February – 15 May 2015
- Grimeford Lane, Blackrod: full closure from 2 March to 12 June 2015

Each structure requires significant work to replace the bridge deck which can only be completed during 24/7 working over weekends when the railway is closed.

As there are limited weekends when the railway can be closed the bridges have to be completed simultaneously so the electrified railway between Manchester and Preston via Bolton will be available for use by December 2016.

Ian Joslin, area director for Network Rail, said: “These bridge rebuilds are an essential part of the electrification of the railway which will provide passengers with a faster, more reliable and efficient railway.

“With only a limited number of weekends available when we can stop all train services and numerous bridges to be rebuilt, it is not possible to complete one bridge at a time.

“I apologise for the disruption caused to the surrounding road network but we have worked closely with the local authority to plan the diversions and will complete the work in the quickest and safest possible way.”

The five new bridges will not need any major work for over 100 years, providing additional benefits to the local road network in the future.

Electrification of the railway will provide faster and more frequent services, with more seats for passengers, and help support economic growth across the north west of England.

About Network Rail
Network Rail owns, manages and develops Britain’s railway – the 20,000 miles of track, 40,000 bridges and viaducts, and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations (the largest of which we also run). In partnership with train operators we help people take more than 1.6bn journeys by rail every year - double the number of 1996 - and move hundreds of millions of tonnes of freight, saving almost 8m lorry journeys. We’re investing  £38bn in the railway by 2019 to deliver more frequent, more reliable, safer services and brighter and better stations.