Trams still a long way down the line

DON’T look down . . . abseilers have begun inspecting the arches of an historic railway viaduct which will take a new Metrolink tram line to Oldham and Rochdale

Hanging about on the job is all in a day’s work for a specialist team working on a historic railway viaduct which will take the new Metrolink tram line to Oldham.

Abseilers are inspecting the arches of the Smedley Viaduct, near Cheetham Hill.

It opened in 1902 and carried the railway over the River Irk for nearly a century before closing in 1998.

It is being restored as part of a £600m project to double the size of the Metrolink network by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive.

The brick structure is just over 400 metres long, 30 metres high and has 26 arches.

The abseilers, all structural engineers, are checking what work is needed to restore the viaduct.

The new Metrolink line to Rochdale will run through Central Park, near Newton Heath, and then replace the existing train line through Oldham to Rochdale, which closes in October.

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.

Philip Purdy, Metrolink director, said: “We’ve already started clearing the viaduct, which has become overgrown over the years, so we can carry out inspections.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Metrolink trams running over this historic railway viaduct — more than a century after it first opened.”