The re-opening of the waterway was good news for Bridge Boatyard owners Chris and Phil Wenn, who have struggled to keep their business going. They have been forced to run much of their operation from boatyards in St Ives and Earith.

‘We are very relieved it’s over. It’s been a hard seven weeks,’ said Chris Wenn. ‘We've had great support from other yards but we've covered a lot of miles getting customers backwards and forwards.’

Network Rail had been working to remove 11 derailed wagons, including two hanging over the bridge. It had to build a mile-long roadway to take heavy lifting gear across marshland to reach the stranded wagons.