A planned bridge reconstruction in Manchester goes ahead this weekend despite the unplanned bridge deconstruction on the other side of the city. Castleton Bridge, which carries a busy freight route over an even busier motorway, is set for the second phase of its reconstruction. However, in an unconnected incident, a bridge in the south of the city, carrying another freight route over a somewhat more sedate suburban lane, remains closed following an aggregates train derailment earlier this month.
Manchester, already straining for freight capacity, is dealing with two bridge reinstatement operations at once. The Castleton Bridge, in the borough of Rochdale, is undergoing a planned replacement. The project has entailed the nationally-publicised closure of the M62 motorway, one of the busiest roads in Britain.
The bridge carries a freight route, which carries several flows, including biomass trains destined for the massive Drax power station complex, Britain’s biggest conventional generating station. However, the totally unplanned failure of a smaller bridge in the southern borough of Tameside – better known as the community of Audenshaw – has left another freight route closed and posed a headache for train planners.
Motorway closure will cause disruption
Britain’s infrastructure agency, Network Rail, is about to embark on the second phase of the multi-million-pound project to rebuild Castleton Bridge over the M62. The £20m (€23.4m) investment is crucial for both the railway and road networks. The 42 metre-long structure, weighing 350 tonnes, is scheduled to be positioned this weekend.
“The second phase of the Castleton bridge replacement is essential for the continued safe running of our railway and to ensure the transportation of six per cent of the UK’s energy supply remains secure,” explained Olivia Boland, Network Rail sponsor for the project. “We understand this motorway closure this will cause disruption, and we thank passengers and motorists for their patience and cooperation. Please check before you travel on the M62 or between Manchester and Rochdale this weekend.”
No derailment conclusions yet
Meanwhile, there are rather fewer details yet available for the fate of the Sidmouth Street Bridge in Audenshaw, on the south side of Manchester. Although the official agencies, principally the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, have yet to make a formal statement, the bridge, which carries a north-to-south freight route, effectively connects West Coast Main Line freight with the TransPennine Route.
An aggregates train, making the short journey from Derbyshire quarries to a Salford terminal, came to a premature end on the Sidmouth Street Bridge. Impressions at the time of the derailment suggest that the bridge timbers failed under the train or may have been broken by the derailed train. A report is expected from the RAIB, but the line remains closed. It’s a certainty that the Castleton Bridge will be reinstated first, and the line and motorway will be back in operation by Monday.