Greek Street bridge replacement

We’re replacing the bridge that takes the Greek Street roundabout, in Stockport, over the West Coast main line.

Project timeline

Preparation work began in 2024. On 31 March 2025, the Greek Street roundabout and nearby roads closed for one year. The railway through Stockport was closed this August, when we dismantled and replaced the bridge. The project will be completed in Spring 2026.

What work is taking place?

Between March and August 2025, utility services which run under the bridge were diverted into a temporary scaffold bridge, to make sure residents and local businesses remained connected during the main work.

Over three weeks in August, the railway closed and we dismantled and replaced the bridge.

The new bridge will ensure safer and more reliable train services along the West Coast Main Line for years to come.

Once the new bridge is in situ, utility services will be reinstated, the road will be rebuilt, and the Greek Street roundabout will reopen.

When is the work taking place?

Over Christmas 2024, we built a scaffold bridge to divert the important utilities that ran under the road surface.

From 31 March 2025, the Greek Street roundabout and part of the nearby roads closed for about a year as the main work began.

You can find information about diversionary routes below.

Since then, Murphy, the contractor working on behalf of Network Rail, worked closely with utility companies to safely divert important services, such as water and electricity, out from below the road service and into a temporary bridge. This complex operation made sure local communities have access to everything they need during the work.

In August 2025, two large cranes, with a combined capacity of 1300 tonnes, were used to carefully lift the old parts out of their position and installed the new bridge.

The railway reopened on the morning of 23 August 2025.

From Saturday 4 – Sunday 5 October 2025, the railway will close again to allow engineers to begin to reinstall part of the roundabout that sits on top of the bridge.

Passengers are advised to plan their journeys between Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester Piccadilly via Stockport on the National Rail Enquires website, where they can find information about how their specific services are affected.

There will be more railway work required over Christmas 2025.

In Spring 2026, we will complete the work to reinstate the road over the bridge. The Greek Street roundabout will then reopen.

How will this work affect me?

Road closure

We have worked closely with Stockport Council and Transport for Greater Manchester to plan the best possible diversionary routes through Stockport during the roundabout closure. You can find diversionary route maps below.

Businesses in the Edgeley District Centre remain open. Please visit them as usual.

Rail disruption

During the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend, the railway through Stockport was closed.

Between 2 August and the morning of 23 August 2025, there were no trains through Stockport.

On the weekend of 4 and 5 October 2025, the railway through Stockport will be closed. Passengers are advised to check before they travel on the National Rail Enquiries website.

Transport for Greater Manchester are accepting rail tickets on the following Bee Network bus services in the Stockport/Manchester/Altrincham areas, plus Metrolink between Altrincham/Navigation Road – Manchester city centre stops:

• 192 Hazel Grove/Stockport/Manchester
• 368 Stockport/Cheadle Hulme/Heald Green
• 378 Stockport/Davenport
• 11 Altrincham/Stockport
• 370 Altrincham/Stockport
• 371 Altrincham/Stockport
• 42c (Handforth Dean – East Didsbury – Piccadilly)

Diversionary route maps for the road closures

Why is the work needed?

The original bridge, constructed in 1958, has reached the end of its life and needs to be replaced.

The bridge is on the Manchester spur of the West Coast Main Line, and sees about 400 passenger and 50 freight services passing under it each day. The replacement has been carefully planned to make sure these services can continue to run reliably for years to come. The new bridge has a life expectancy of 120 years.

Additional work

During the August blockade, numerous upgrades were carried out across approximately 50 miles of the West Coast Main Line between Staffordshire and Stockport.

The largest of these schemes, representing a combined and additional £23m investment, are:

• Strengthening and waterproofing River Trent Viaduct in Stone
• Work to upgrade the power supply to overhead lines in Stockport
• Track renewals in Stone, Hixon and Congleton
• Railway point replacement in Macclesfield
• Platform work at Poynton station
• Railway drainage upgraded at Trentham
• A new footbridge at Longport station

Alongside the main worksites, scores more smaller but equally important maintenance activities took place, including upgrades to signal boxes and level crossings.

Condensing all this work into those three weeks is more efficient, saving money for the taxpayer overall, with the alternative being years of disruptive weekend or overnight working to deliver the same benefits for passengers and freight.

Get in touch

For more information or to get in touch with us, please contact us by visiting our contact us page or by calling our 24-hour national helpline on 03457 11 41 41.

We are encouraging local residents to sign up for our digital notifications at networkrail.co.uk/sign-up. We will email you about any upcoming railway work in your area.