Great Central Railway to start £1m Loughborough bridge plan

A heritage railway group has said it is due to start work on a £1m plan to replace a bridge.

The Great Central Railway, based in Loughborough, said the work will help reunite the eight-mile section of the track it operates down to Leicester with a separate section in Nottinghamshire.

Work to reconnect the two halves of the line began in 2016.

Managing director Michael Gough said it was a "major step" in the project.

"The social media feeds are already buzzing," he said.

"There's no doubt this is seen as a major step in a project that's in a lot of people's hearts."

The work, due to be completed in the autumn, will involve the replacement of the bridge, which crosses the A60, adjacent to the former Brush Works in Loughborough.

Two new steel and concrete decks will be made and the old bridge deck will be demolished in October, the group said.

This project represents the next major step in the reunification of the Great Central Railway Loughborough with the northern section which leads to Ruddington, in Nottinghamshire.

The project is being funded by supporters and the railway's charitable trust.

Mr Gough added the 120-year-old current bridge, which had suffered strikes from high-sided vehicles down the years, could not be repaired.

The group has already completed projects to repair a Victorian canal bridge and build another bridge over the Midlands Mainline.

The scheme to reunite the two sections of line also involves reinstating embankments and other work, which Mr Gough said would take place when funding allowed.

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].