Montgomeryshire's Conservative MP paid tribute to the power of public investment in the railways as a rail bridge near Machynlleth was officially re-opened.

Craig Williams MP praised the work of engineers at the opening ceremony of Black Bridge, near Machynlleth, which was raised by more than a metre after a six-week project to lift the crossing out of a flood zone over the river Dulas.

A total of 360 engineers clocked up more than 32,000 hours to deliver the project, with the line reopening on Monday, June 28, which aims to reduce the amount of closures on the flood-prone Machynlleth-Shrewsbury line.

"The original Black Bridge which has been here since 1913 has been lifted and hopefully now the network timetables will be a lot more stable, as flooding isn't going to impact the timetable," said Mr Williams.

"This is a £4m-£5m investment from Network Rail which is very, very welcome delivered by local contractors who I've met today and who have done a terrific job. "

During periods of heavy rainfall, the proximity of the bridge to the river below has caused regular closures on the route, leaving large sections of the Cambrian lines in central Wales isolated.

The bridge has been closed 30 times in the last decade, and ten times in 2020 alone, for emergency repairs caused by flood water.

The Bridge was officially opened by Sir Peter Hendy CBE, the chairman of Network Rail, who said the project would provide jobs and economic growth for the region through an improved rail service.

"The purpose of the railway is to provide connectivity, to provide economic growth, job creation, housing and social cohesion so it's really important the railways is reliable," he said.

"This bridge in its former position was closing 10 or 15 times a year, disruption the local economy and damaging the economy of the whole constituency.

"We spent public money, this is public money, this is 'tax-payers money', it will make the railway more reliable and contribute to economic growth and jobs for this part of the country.

"It's a pleasure to have been here to open it and we hope it will last many years without any closures at all."