Start set for GCR ‘Factory Flyover’ reunification project

WORK ON the £2.8 million ‘Factory Flyover’ – a major step towards reunifying the Great Central Railway with the Nottingham Heritage Railway – could begin later this year.

More than £1.4m is already in the pot for the project, which involves building two new bridges – one over the Precis Spark factory car park and another over Railway Terrace Road, in Loughborough – and it is hoped work on this next phase of the overall ‘Bridging the Gap’ scheme could get under way later in 2023, subject to securing the necessary permissions. Once work has started, it will continue as far as funds will allow. An additional ‘money match’ fundraising drive will begin in March, where every pound donated to the scheme will be matched by another from a donor up to the value of £150,000.

“We want to get building again as soon as possible,” said Andy Fillingham, chairman of the Friends of the Great Central Main Line, which is promoting the project. “However, we need to raise more money to complete the Factory Flyover. ‘Money Match March’ has always been popular with supporters as it’s a chance for their donation to go even further.

“Every pound matters. If we successfully match all the money, our totaliser will leap up to an incredible £1.8m. The more people give, the further we can go with the ‘Factory Flyover’.”

The ‘Factory Flyover’ follows the completion of three earlier phases of the reunification project: installation of a new bridge over the Midland Main Line, the restoration of an existing bridge over the Grand Union Canal, and the recent replacement of the life-expired bridge on the NHR in Loughborough.