THE busiest railway in Britain is temporarily shutting down for demolition in a matter of hours.
This isn’t good news for anyone who was planning to travel for New Year’s Day, though the project was far from a snap decision.
In fact, engineers have spent 12 months preparing and perfecting the enormous steel structure of a new bridge set to carry trains on the West Coast Main Line over the M6.
The previous bridge in place that’s being demolished – Clifton Bridge – is now nearly 60 years old and can only carry one train at a time due to weight restrictions.
Replacing this with a brand-new bridge will smooth out services and prevent delays – beneficial to safety as well as customer satisfaction.
The new bridge will be installed by Network Rail in partnership with Skanska during a two-week period at the beginning of 2026.
As a result the M6 will be shutting down for two consecutive weekends, including:
- 8pm on Friday January 2 and 5am on Monday January 5 2026
- 8pm on Friday January 9 and 5am Monday January 12 2026
During this time frame, the motorway will close in both directions between junction 39 at Shap and junction 40 near Penrith as well.
Further to the weekend closures, parts of the West Coast Main Line won’t be operating in the North West, so it’s necessary to check your upcoming travels:
- January 1-4 2026, the line will be closed through Preston, between Oxenholme and Carlisle, and Carlisle to Dumfries and Lockerbie
- January 5-6 2026, the line through Preston will be open. The railway between Oxenholme and Carlisle, and Carlisle to Dumfries and Lockerbie, will remain closed for work.
- January 7-14 2026, the line north of Carlisle will be open. The railway between Oxenholme and Carlisle will be closed as the work to replace Clifton bridge continues until the early hours of 15 January.
Speaking on the importance of the project Network Rail’s project manager William Brandon says: “This is a vital project which will improve journeys for passengers for decades to come.
“While we close the railway to replace the M6 bridge we’ll also be renewing more than 80 kilometres of overhead lines and continuing our major modernisation of signalling systems.
“We appreciate passengers’ patience while this work is completed, and I would urge anyone planning to travel in this period to check National Rail Enquiries in advance.”
