Network Rail has completed a £43 million upgrade programme on the West Coast Main Line across Staffordshire, Cheshire and Greater Manchester.

The work included improvements to bridges, tracks, overhead lines and lineside structures along a 50-mile stretch, which was closed for 21 days to allow the upgrades to take place.

A major part of the project involved a £20m scheme in Stockport to remove and rebuild a 67-year-old railway bridge spanning five lines south of the town's station.

The rare three-week railway closure over a wide geography gave the company and its supply chain the perfect opportunity to carry out numerous railway improvement schemes while the routes in and out of Stockport were closed to train traffic, including:

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• Track and points renewal in Macclesfield;

• Platform reconstruction at Poynton station in Cheshire;

• Footbridge renovations at Longport station in Stoke-on-Trent;

• River Trent Viaduct waterproofing in Stone;

• Track upgrades at Hixon, Stone and Congleton;

• Track and points renewal at Stone station;

• Level crossing upgrades at Meaford, Church Lane, and Aston-by-Stone crossings in Stone;

• Track and drainage improvements near Trentham.

John Nixon, Network Rail Capital Delivery senior programme manager, said: "We'd like to thank passengers impacted by this significant railway closure of the West Coast Main Line for the last three weeks. It’s allowed us to invest tens of millions of pounds and make wide ranging improvements to provide a safer and more reliable railway, benefiting journeys for passengers and freight in the future."