Vintage bus service reunites Great Central railways

The Great Central Railway line between Leicester and Nottingham was linked up using the London Routemaster buses

Two halves of a heritage railway have been "reunified" for the first time in more than 50 years.

The Great Central Railway line between Leicester and Nottingham was connected until the 1970s, when old bridges and a long embankment were removed.

Vintage Routemaster buses linked the lines up again on Saturday.

The modern Great Central Railway attraction is working towards bringing the two sections of the double track line together permanently.

The special replacement bus service operated between the two sections of track - one at Ruddington, south of Nottingham, and an eight-mile section between Loughborough and Birstall - to mark 125 years since the railway first opened.

The attraction said it gave visitors a flavour of past glories and a glimpse of the two lines' joined-up future.

It also said the permanent reunification project, which will see bridges be refurbished and replaced, was one of the biggest ever to be undertaken by a heritage railway.