Manchester-Sheffield rail passengers warned of seven weeks of disruption as route to close for emergency work

The route between Piccadilly and Sheffield will close for several weeks so emergency work can be carried out. Network Rail have announced the work will take place on the line at Hague Bar, New Mills. Engineers have been trying to stabilise the ground around the railway, but in order to do this properly the line will need to close. 

The line will close from Saturday, July 6 to Sunday, August 25. During this time, a change of timetable will be in place and a bus replacement service will be in operation. Network Rail have added that if they didn’t complete this work, 50,000 tons of earth could slip into the River Goyt below the train line. 

 Vitesh Solanki, Network Rail’s scheme project manager, said: “I’d advise passengers to check National Rail enquiries for travel advice in July and August for services between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield. I’m sorry for the disruption the rail closure will cause passengers. The closure is the safest and quickest way for us to carry out the work so we can reopen the line fully to passengers as soon as possible.”

A spokesperson for Northern said: “We’d like to thank our customers for their patience while this important, safety-critical work is carried out by Network Rail. We’ll do everything we can to make sure customers can still get where they want to be – but they should allow more time for their journeys.”

Changes to Piccadilly to Sheffield line 

• From Monday to Saturday there will be an hourly train service between Manchester Piccadilly and Marple. A bus service will run between Marple and Chinley. 
• On Sundays, an hourly bus service will run between Manchester Piccadilly, Bredbury, Marple and Chinley.
• Services between Chinley and Manchester Piccadilly continue to divert via Hazel Grove and Stockport, with a bus service between Chinley and Marple.
•  Bus replacement running between New Mills Central and Chinley station