Nemesis has been closed, by order of the Phalanx...
Nemesis has been closed, by order of the Phalanx...
New track sitting in the car park waiting to be installed
In January 2022 Alton Towers submitted a planning application "to confirm the lawfulness of maintenance works" to Nemesis, arguably its most iconic and best loved rollercoaster.
The proposal included replacing the vast majority of the original track with the exception of the station, lift hill and final brake run, strengthening foundations and filling the new replacement track with sand to reduce noise (and quieten Nemesis' famous roar).
The plans were approved by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and the park subsequently announced that Nemesis would temporarily close at the end of the 2022 season, with the track replacement being carried out throughout 2023 before the newly refurbished Nemesis reopened in 2024 in time for its 30th anniversary.
Work began shortly after the final rides on the original Nemesis took place on 6 November 2022, with removal of the old track over the winter prior to work commencing on reconstruction of the steel monster herself.
Late in September 2022 signs appeared around the park and in Forbidden Valley, announcing that Nemesis was closing "by order of The Phalanx", the fictional organisation charged with keeping the Nemesis monster secured and under control. The date given was 6 November 2022, the final date of Alton's 2022 theme park season.
One of the Phalax's notices on Towers Street
A sign in Forbidden Valley
Riders are forewarned that Nemesis is closing
Alton Towers' annual firework event took place on the Friday to Sunday of the first weekend of November 2022 and marked the closing of the 2022 season. Throughout the weekend guests took their final rides on Nemesis, before "final test specimen" competition winners got to ride the rollercoaster at a special event after the park closed on 6 November.
The final days of the original Nemesis
Forbidden Valley was busy throughout the weekend
Riders took their final rides
Darkness gave the chance for night rides
Nemesis was lit up in red for the occasion
A final ride and the end of an era
2023's Opening Day gave the first real chance to see what had taken place over the winter. Hoardings surrounded the Nemesis ride area, and all the old track had been removed with the lift hill the only part of the rollercoaster to be easily seen. A temporary scaffold viewing platform has been built, presumably to allow the public to get a view over the construction site, although this was not open. It was fenced off and being guarded by a member of The Phalanx.
A crane towers over Forbidden Valley
A member of the Phalanx guards the entrance to the viewing platform
The structure is quite substantial
No visitors today, though
Construction walls surround Nemesis
The lift hill, station and brake run are the only parts of the original track remaining
Giant yellow crane
A lift hill to nowhere
The turnaround and first drop used to be here
The old staff car park is being used as a base for construction
Much work has taken place over the last few weeks, with parts of the replacement track on site and being installed. The track features a new black colour scheme with red coloured blood vessels running along the spine. An Observation Platform has been opened to allow park visitors to look down on the contruction site, and Nemesis Sub-Terra has been reopened in Forbidden Valley.
Construction crane seen from the main car parks
Track on a trailer in the car park next to Galactica
New black track with the red blood vessels down the spine
Marked up track
Close up of the new paintwork and detailing
Nemesis' main entrance
Looking down into the construction site
No turnaround track at the moment
As far as the new track currently reaches
Work going on at the far end of the vertical loop pit
Digger on duty
End of the track
Station exit
The entrance to the Observation Platform sits next to Nemesis Sub-Terra
Scientific Testing in Progress
Observation Platform entrance
Scaffolding walkway
View from the observation platform
Military Jurisdiction
Seek the truth
Sub Terra queueline screens showing footage of the new track arriving
From the bottom of Forbidden Valley
The crane from the Gardens
Work has progressed quickly, with almost all the new track now in place. Roaming Phalanx actors stand near the construction walls, which seem to have been torn into by massive claws - although the official line remains that everything is under control.
The new track is nearly complete
Scaffolding surrounds the ride entrance
Phalanx operatives in the area
The official word is everything is under control
The Observation Platform remains open
Overview of the site from the Observation Platform
A new vertical loop and turnaround
First inversion
The station has been designated a Containment Unit
Behind the construction walls
Bus theming
Nemesis' station and exit
The Ride Photography building in being repainted
180 degree turn
Only a small section of track near the first drop remains missing
The new Nemesis lit up in red for the Fireworks event