Amazing footage shows £3.8m repairs on the 'world's oldest viaduct' to keep trains moving

Work is well on the way to improve train journeys between Manchester and Liverpool as Network Rail have invested £3.8 million into Sankey Viaduct.

Although not as well-known, long or iconic as Ribblehead in North Yorkshire, Sankey is hugely significant as the first major railway viaduct in the world, and birthplace of the modern railway.

Also known as ‘Nine Arches’ viaduct, it was designed by railway pioneer George Stephenson to bridge the 160-metre gap over the Sankey valley and built between 1828-1830.

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Mark Evans, Network Rail Capital Delivery senior programme manager, said: “It’s a privilege to look after so many significant buildings and structures across the rail network, but Sankey viaduct has got to be one of the unsung heroes of Victorian civil engineering.”

Network Rail have used scanners and drones to map every inch of the Victorian viaduct as part of the major restoration project. They have released footage of a 3D computer model of 19th century structure where they used LiDAR technology.

Using drone scans they took shots from above and below the viaduct to highlight where it needed repairing.

In a LiDAR system, light is emitted from a rapidly firing laser like a strobe light. This travels to the ground and reflects of things and reports to the system where it is reported. The data helps build an accurate 3D computer model of the Grade I listed structure.

The viaduct has nine arches spanning 15 metres, which stand on eight supports up to 21 metres high spanning 160 metres over the Sankey Valley. It carries twin tracks where up to