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THE busiest railway in Britain is temporarily shutting down for demolition in a matter of hours.
This isn’t good news for anyone who was planning to travel for New Year’s Day, though the project was far from a snap decision.
In fact, engineers have spent 12 months preparing and perfecting the enormous steel structure of a new bridge set to carry trains on the West Coast Main Line over the M6.
The previous bridge in place that’s being demolished – Clifton Bridge – is now nearly 60 years old and can only carry one train at a time due to weight restrictions.
Replacing this with a brand-new bridge will smooth out services and prevent delays – beneficial to safety as well as customer satisfaction.
The new bridge will be installed by Network Rail in partnership with Skanska during a two-week period at the beginning of 2026.
As a result the M6 will be shutting down for two consecutive weekends, including:
During this time frame, the motorway will close in both directions between junction 39 at Shap and junction 40 near Penrith as well.
Further to the weekend closures, parts of the West Coast Main Line won’t be operating in the North West, so it’s necessary to check your upcoming travels:
Speaking on the importance of the project Network Rail’s project manager William Brandon says: “This is a vital project which will improve journeys for passengers for decades to come.
“While we close the railway to replace the M6 bridge we’ll also be renewing more than 80 kilometres of overhead lines and continuing our major modernisation of signalling systems.
“We appreciate passengers’ patience while this work is completed, and I would urge anyone planning to travel in this period to check National Rail Enquiries in advance.”
Palestinian officials condemn the actions as part of a ‘systematic policy of displacement’ in the occupied territory.
Israeli forces have stormed towns in the occupied West Bank and demolished a residential building.
Soldiers fired stun grenades and tear gas on Monday as they carried out the demolition in East Jerusalem. Palestinian officials accused Israel of a campaign of displacement in the city, saying the operation was part of a systematic attempt to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their land.
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Scores of Palestinians were displaced as Israeli bulldozers tore through a four-storey residential building. Activists called it the largest such demolition in the area this year.
Three bulldozers destroyed the building with 13 apartments in the Wadi Qaddum neighbourhood of the Silwan district, south of Jerusalem’s Old City, Al Jazeera Arabic correspondents reported.
Israeli forces cordoned off surrounding roads, deployed heavily across the area and positioned security personnel on the rooftops of neighbouring houses. During the operation, a young man and a teenage boy were arrested.
Residents were told the demolition order was issued because the building had been constructed without a permit.
Palestinians face severe obstacles in obtaining building permits due to Israel’s restrictive planning policies, activists say, a policy that they assert is part of a systematic attempt to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their land.
Israel’s security cabinet has recently approved the recognition of 19 new settlements in the West Bank, expanding the total number approved this year to 69 as the government continues its settlement push.
The Jerusalem governorate, affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, condemned the demolition.
“The building’s destruction is part of a systematic policy aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinian residents and emptying the city of its original inhabitants,” the governorate said in a statement.
“Any demolition that expels residents from their homes constitutes a clear occupation plan to replace the land’s owners with settlers.”
The Jerusalem municipality, an Israeli authority whose jurisdiction over East Jerusalem is not recognised under international law, said the demolition was based on a 2014 court order.
Israeli human rights groups Ir Amim and Bimkom said the demolition was carried out without warning despite a scheduled meeting on Monday to discuss steps to legalise the building.
“This is part of an ongoing policy. This year alone, around 100 East Jerusalem families have lost their homes,” the groups said, calling Monday’s demolition the largest of 2025.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli forces damaged agricultural land and uprooted trees in the northern town of Silat al-Harithiya.
In the city of Halhul, north of Hebron, Israeli forces stormed several neighbourhoods with large numbers of military vehicles, deployed sniper teams and took up positions across the city.
Al Jazeera Arabic journalists reported that Israeli vehicles entered Halhul through multiple checkpoints, including Nabi Yunis, while closing the Halhul Bridge checkpoint linking the city to Hebron.
Since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, Israeli forces and settlers have also sharply escalated attacks across the West Bank.
More than 1,102 Palestinians have been killed in the territory, about 11,000 wounded and more than 21,000 arrested, according to Palestinian figures.
