Abseilers inspect historic railway viaduct

Specialist abseilers have begun inspecting the arches of an historic railway viaduct which will take a new Metrolink tram line to Rochdale.

Smedley Viaduct near Cheetham Hill in North Manchester opened in 1902 and carried the railway over the River Irk for nearly a century before closing in 1998.

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) is overseeing the restoration of the viaduct as part of a £600 million project to double the size of the Metrolink network.

The brick structure is just over 400 metres long, 30 metres high and has 26 arches. The abseilers, who are all structural engineers, are carrying out inspections under the arches to see what work may be needed to restore the viaduct.

Philip Purdy, GMPTE's Metrolink Director, said: "We've already started clearing the viaduct, which has become overgrown over the years, so we can carry out inspections.

"The abseilers will be hanging down from the top of the viaduct to look under the arches. We need to check what restoration work will be needed before trams can start running over it.

"I'm looking forward to seeing Metrolink trams running over this historic railway viaduct - more than a century after it first opened."

Engineers from MPact-Thales, which has been appointed to build the new Metrolink lines, are inspecting all of the structures along the routes before construction work starts.

The new Metrolink line to Rochdale will run through Central Park near Newton Heath in East Manchester and then replace the existing train line through Oldham to Rochdale. The last train on the line between Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale will run on Saturday 3 October 2009.

Transport bosses are working closely with the bus operators to look at how the existing bus network can be enhanced while the line is upgraded. They will carry out passenger surveys early next year to find out where people are travelling from as well as their final destinations.

Trains will also continue to run as normal on the line between Manchester, Rochdale and Leeds while the work takes place.

The existing train stations on the Oldham and Rochdale line will be replaced with Metrolink stops, and six new stops will be built at Monsall, Central Park, South Chadderton, Freehold, Newbold and outside Rochdale railway station.

Two large Park & Ride sites will be created at Hollinwood and Derker and improvements will be made to the parking at Shaw and Crompton and at other stops on the line, taking the total number of spaces to around 250.

The new Metrolink line is due to open to trams between Manchester and Central Park in spring 2011. Trams are expected to begin running to Oldham Mumps in autumn 2011, and to Rochdale in spring 2012.