The bad state of old rail bridges shows us the dangers it brings

At one time the now abandoned rail line that used to come over the Cadishead Viaduct through Partington used to be very busy after years of being abandoned its now decaying.

Along the route are bridges one over Manchester Road in Partington, A56 in Timperley, Bridgewater Canal in Timperley, Moss Lane in Timperely and Park Road in Timperley and smaller bridges along the way.

The bridge causing the most concern is the one over the Bridgewater Canal in Timperley where all the wood under where the rail line used to sit has all but gone, the outer rusting away and today a youngster walking on the top side of the rusting bridge on 28 Jan 2023.

This was incredibly dangerous for the individual as one slip and he was heading for the water below the bridge, the Bridgewater Canal is not that deep and no one knows what is lurking beneath it, the individual we believe at this time walked away from the bridge safely.

A member of the public contacted Network Rail on social media and told them of the approximate time the individual was seen walking on the top of the bridge with only inches to spare from a potential tragic incident, Network Rail spokesperson also mentioned that they were sending out engineers to look at the bridge.

To get on to the bridge should have been difficult since both ends are secured by very strong gates however we have seen pictures showing gates being opened or a huge gap made so people can go through, more needs to be done by Network Rail to make sure nothing like this happens again, we suggest bringing the bridge down since the rail line looks likely to decay further

We have asked Network Rail recently about the chances of the rail line becoming a cycle/walk/run path and they seemed very interested, of course it will need lots of money to buy the route and even more to clear the vegetation that has now grown out of all control.