A
railway


in
north
Derbyshire
will
be
closed
for
seven
weeks
in
July
and
August,
so
that
Network
Rail
engineers
can
step
up
their
efforts
to
prevent
part
of
an
embankment
falling
into
a
river.

Cracks
in
land
in
the
Goyt
Valley
west
of
New
Mills,
near
the
village
of
Hague
Bar,
were
first
reported
in
April.


Engineers started
emergency
repair
work
on
two
sites,
but
it
was
then
decided
to
close
one
running
line
and
impose
a
speed
restriction
on
the
other.

Now
Network
Rail
is
warning
that
50,000
tonnes
of
earth
could
fall
into
the
River
Goyt
unless
a
full
engineering
possession
is
arranged.

The
line
will
now
be
closed
completely
from
6
July
until
25
August.
Buses
will
replace
the
train
service
between
New
Mills
Central
and
Chinley
while
the
engineers
stablise
the
embankment
by
drilling
foundations
into
the
earth
and
building
a
wall
between
the
railway
and
the
river
to
stop
the
ground
movement.

Network
Rail’s
scheme
project
manager
Vitesh
Solanki
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
as
soon
as
possible.’

Network
Rail
is
working
with
Northern
to
reduce
disruption
as
much
as
possible.

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.’

The
work
means
there
will
be
some
changes
in
services
from
Manchester
to
New
Mills
Central
via
Bredbury:

From
Monday
to
Saturday
there
will
be
an
hourly
train
service
between
Manchester
Piccadilly
and
Marple
while
buses
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
will
continue
to
be
diverted
via
Hazel
Grove
and
Stockport.