Clifton residents invited to find out more about M6 rail bridge replacement

Wednesday 26 Mar 2025

Clifton residents invited to find out more about M6 rail bridge replacement

Region & Route:North West & Central [1]| North West & Central: North West [2]

Network Rail is inviting the local community to find out more about next year's major work to rebuild the Clifton railway bridge which crosses the M6 near Penrith. More than GBP60m is being invested to replace the bridge that takes the West Coast Main Line over the motorway. The 60-year-old bridge has reached the end of its life and needs to be replaced.

Work to demolish and replace the structure will take place in January 2026. However, the team are already on site in Clifton to prepare for the work. Residents are invited to find out more at an event on Monday 31 March at Clifton Primary School, CA10 2EG.

From 6pm- 8:30pm, the project team from Network Rail and National Highways will be available to answer any questions about the work. Olivia Boland, Network Rail's sponsor for the project, said: "We are rebuilding Clifton bridge over the M6 to keep rail passengers and motorway users safe for years to come. This project is essential as the bridge has reached the end of its life.

"The main work, which involves rail and road closures, is not happening until January 2026. However, we want to give people living in the Clifton area the opportunity to meet us as we prepare for the project and ask any questions they may have. "We're working with National Highways to make sure we can carry out our work as safely as possible with as little inconvenience to local people and the travelling public.

I hope to see you at our event on 31 March." Network Rail is working with National Highways to manage the road diversions during the work. National Highways is also building a temporary access road to the site compound so the preparation work can be carried out.

Steve Mason, programme delivery manager for National Highways, said: "Clifton bridge is a critical piece of the UK's railway infrastructure. Anyone attending next week's event at Clifton Primary School can find out how we're working hard alongside our counterparts in Network Rail to ensure the bridge is replaced safely but with as little inconvenience to motorway users and local residents as possible." To facilitate the major work there is traffic management* in place on the M6, starting approximately three miles south of Junction 40.

From Monday 31 March 2025, there will be roadworks on a three-mile section of the M6 between junction 39 (Shap) and 40 (Penrith):

lane closures, narrow lanes and a 40mph speed limit
two lanes (of three) running in both directions during the day
one lane running both ways overnight

A free vehicle recovery service for motorists in the event of a break will be operated until March 2027. In January 2026, the railway will be closed for two weeks so the bridge can be demolished and replaced over two weekends. Network Rail is working with train operators to plan what alternative transport options will be available during this time.

The M6 will be closed over two weekends in January 2026. Between the evening of Friday 2 January and the morning of Monday 5 January 2026 and the evening of Friday 9 January and the morning of Monday 12 January, the motorway will be closed in both directions between junction 39 at Shap and junction 40 near Penrith.

Notes to Editors

Network Rail and National Highways worked together on a similar project in Greater Manchester in the autumn when Network Rail successfully replaced a railway bridge over the M62 near Rochdale requiring two weekend closures of the motorway. *There will be a hard shoulder and lane one closure on the M6 northbound from January 2025 until, provisionally, the end of the project.

Other traffic management will be in place during the project. About the West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line the busiest mixed-use railway in Europe, forming Anglo-Scottish journeys between London, Glasgow and Edinburgh via the West Midlands and North West, as well as providing commuter links direct to the capital through Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire.

This piece of track is the main route for electrified freight trains which helps to remove lorries from the roads and will contribute to the UK's ambition to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track [3], 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts [4] and the thousands of signals [5], level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations [6] while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies [7]. Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network.

People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day.

Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway [8], so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan [9], to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

References

^ North West & Central (www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk)
^ North West & Central: North West (www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk)
^ track (www.networkrail.co.uk)
^ bridges, tunnels and viaducts (www.networkrail.co.uk)
^ signals (www.networkrail.co.uk)
^ stations (www.networkrail.co.uk)
^ train operating companies (www.networkrail.co.uk)
^ a safe and reliable railway (www.networkrail.co.uk)
^ multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan (www.networkrail.co.uk)
^ @networkrail (twitter.com)
^ http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/ (www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk)