The railway between Sheffield and Manchester will close for 7 weeks for earthworks

Engineers have been working around the clock in Hague Bar, New Mills, to stabilize the earth supporting the railway, but further work is now needed for a long-term solution.

To do this, the railway must be closed between Saturday 6 July and Sunday 25 August.

The team will drill foundations into the ground and build a wall between the railway and the river to stop soil movement.

If the work is not carried out, there is a risk of 50,000 tonnes of soil falling from the railway into the River Goyt, Network Rail said.

The organization also said the work will be carried out as quickly and efficiently as possible to minimize disruption to the community and fully reopen the railway as soon as possible.

The foundation wall works are already underway and can be seen in the image below.

Network Rail project manager Vitesh Solanki said: “I would advise passengers to check National Rail’s applications for travel advice in July and August for services between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield.

“I am sorry for the disruption the rail closure will cause to passengers. The closure is the safest and quickest way for us to carry out the work so that we can fully reopen the line to passengers as soon as possible.”

A Northern spokesman said: “We would like to thank our customers for their patience while this important, safety-critical work is carried out by Network Rail.

“We will do everything we can to ensure customers can still get where they want to go, but they should allow more time for their journeys.”

Do you like what you read? To receive New Civil Engineer’s daily and weekly newsletters, click here.