It's full steam ahead for viaduct on heritage line

VOLUNTEERS working on a heritage railway line between Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire are celebrating after winning permission to build a new viaduct.

- By JOE LOCKER Local democracy reporter

It marks a significant step in reconnecting the Great Central Railway (GCR) line between the two counties.

The project will see about 500 metres of track relaid to join two surviving sections of the line, one in Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, and the other in Loughborough, Leicestershire.

The GCR, which was a Victorian high-speed railway that opened in 1899 and ran from Sheffield to London, was partially closed during the Beeching cuts in the 1960s.

Charnwood Borough Council gave the go-ahead on June 16 for the construction of an urban viaduct between the Grand Union Canal Bridge and Railway Terrace in Loughborough.