The upcoming railway engineering works near Stockport will improve journeys across three counties, Network Rail has said.

Over the course of three weeks next month, engineers from Network Rail will replace the Greek Street bridge and carry out a £23m package of upgrades along the West Coast Mainline.

This includes railway point replacement in Macclesfield, platform work at Poynton, strengthening power lines, track renewals and more, all designed to improve journeys in Cheshire, Staffordshire and Greater Manchester.

However, as a result of these works, no trains will be running through Macclesfield between August 2 and 23.

Network Rail said that getting upgrades done in one fell swoop saves taxpayer money and is more efficient.

"The alternative is years of disruptive weekend or overnight working to deliver the same benefits for passengers and freight", a spokesperson said.

READ MORE: Macclesfield Railway Station to be brought to a halt for three weeks in August

(Image - Network Rail)

advertisement

Christian Irwin OBE, Network Rail's North West and Central region Capital Delivery director, added: "We know that any railway closure means changes to people's travel plans, so we've worked hard to make sure we carry out as many improvement projects as efficiently and effectively as possible during this rare three-week window when routes in and around Stockport are closed.

"When combined all of these upgrades will greatly improve the future reliability for passenger and freight trains on the West Coast Main Line for years to come.

"During the significant improvements, we're advising people to plan ahead and remember to check before they travel by using National Rail Enquiries."

During the closure, the journey from Macclesfield to Manchester Piccadilly will take around one hour and ten minutes.

Passengers will have to travel via a rail replacement bus, changing at either Stockport or Wilmslow.

For those heading south, there will be a direct rail replacement bus service to Stoke-on-Trent, taking 49 minutes.