Upcoming railway engineering works near Stockport will bring benefits to three counties, Network Rail has said.

Over the course of three weeks next month, engineers from Network Rail will replace the Greek Street bridge and carry out a £23m package of upgrades along the West Coast Mainline.

This includes strengthening power lines, drainage upgrades, track renewals in Congleton and more, all designed to improve journeys in Cheshire, Staffordshire and Greater Manchester.

However, as a result of these works, no trains will be running through Congleton between August 2 and 23.

Network Rail said that getting upgrades done in one fell swoop saves taxpayer money and is more efficient.

"The alternative is years of disruptive weekend or overnight working to deliver the same benefits for passengers and freight", a spokesperson said.

READ MORE: Congleton Railway Station to be brought to a halt for three weeks in August

(Image - Network Rail)

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Christian Irwin OBE, Network Rail's North West and Central region Capital Delivery director, added: "We know that any railway closure means changes to people's travel plans, so we've worked hard to make sure we carry out as many improvement projects as efficiently and effectively as possible during this rare three-week window when routes in and around Stockport are closed.

"When combined all of these upgrades will greatly improve the future reliability for passenger and freight trains on the West Coast Main Line for years to come.

"During the significant improvements, we're advising people to plan ahead and remember to check before they travel by using National Rail Enquiries."

While the closure is in place, the journey from Congleton to Manchester Piccadilly will take around one hour and 48 minutes.

Passengers will have to travel via rail replacement bus, changing at either Macclesfield and then Stockport or Kidsgrove and then Crewe.

There is also a service that requires just one change, at Stockport, but this takes just over two hours.

For those heading south, there will be a direct rail replacement bus service to Stoke-on-Trent, taking 30 minutes.