Major changes to Chiltern main line journeys during five-day rail upgrade this month
Chiltern Railways passengers are being urged to check before they travel ahead of a five-day closure of the Chiltern main line between Bicester and Leamington Spa while Network Rail completes vital improvement work at the end of July.
As part of a £9m+ investment Network Rail and its partners at Story Contracting will work around the clock between Saturday 27 and Wednesday 31 July to replace a bridge which carries the railway over the River Cherwell in King's Sutton near Banbury.
During the rail closure engineers will lift a new 240-tonne bridge deck into place using two special rail-mounted ‘Kirow’ cranes. Once complete the work will keep the structure safe and reliable for passengers and freight services for decades to come.
At the same time engineers will upgrade over 500 metres of railway north of Banbury station which includes replacing sections of track and drainage to help make journeys smoother.
While the work takes place the railway will be closed between Bicester and Leamington Spa stations.
Improvements will also be taking place this weekend. The railway will be closed between Bicester and Dorridge before 10am on Sunday 21 July. In addition, the railway will be closed between Bicester and Leamington Spa all day on Sunday 21 July and rail replacement buses will be in operation.
To keep passengers moving railway replacement buses will operate as follows, connecting with trains to/from Marylebone at Bicester Village, and connecting with trains to/from Birmingham Moor Street at Leamington Spa:
- Bicester Village - Banbury - Leamington Spa.
- Bicester Village - Banbury - Stratford Upon Avon.
- Bicester Village - Kings Sutton - Banbury.
Adam Checkley, infrastructure director for Network Rail, said: “I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we complete over £9m of upgrades on the Chiltern main line between Bicester and Leamington Spa stations this month to help make journeys more reliable.
“If you're planning to catch a train during the rail closures, please check with Chiltern Railways and at www.nationalrail.co.uk before you travel for information about your journey.”
Andy Camp, commercial and customer strategy director at Chiltern Railways, said: “These crucial engineering works will ensure more reliable journeys for customers in the future and I would like to thank customers for their understanding as this work will mean they will need to change their normal travel plans during this period.
“There will be no through trains between London Marylebone and Birmingham on both Sunday 21 July and during the five-day closure at the end of the month. Journeys will be longer and may include travel on a rail replacement bus so I urge customers to check their journeys before setting out.”
Passengers should check www.chilternrailways.co.uk/jul24engineering for journey information and travel advice.
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Notes to editors
Other general travel advice for customers travelling during the closure:
On Saturday 27 July, Bruce Springsteen will be performing in concert at Wembley Stadium. An enhanced timetable will be in operation during the afternoon and evening, with additional Wembley Stadium stops in trains, and also some additional trains. Services will be busier than usual due to additional passengers travelling because of engineering work between Oxford and Didcot.
A reduced service of one train per hour will operate between Marylebone and Aylesbury Vale Parkway between 12:00 and 20:00. After 20:00 rail replacement buses will operate as follows, connecting with trains to/from Marylebone at Beaconsfield:
Beaconsfield - Amersham - Great Missenden - Wendover - Stoke Mandeville - Aylesbury - Aylesbury Vale Parkway.
- Chiltern Railways is part of the Arriva group, one of the leading providers of passenger transport in Europe, employing around 34,400 people and delivering around 1.6 billion passenger journeys across 11 countries.
- Chiltern operates commuter/regional rail passenger services from its Central London terminus at London Marylebone along the M40 corridor to destinations in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, as well as long-distance services to the West Midlands along two routes. Services on the Chiltern Main Line run from London Marylebone to Birmingham Snow Hill, Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford, with some peak-hour services to Stourbridge Junction.
- Chiltern also runs trains on the London to Aylesbury Line to Aylesbury (with some trains terminating at Aylesbury Vale Parkway instead), on the Princes Risborough to Aylesbury and Oxford to Bicester branch lines.