Media centre

Tuesday 23 Feb 2010

EASTER BRIDGE UPGRADE TO BRING LONGER TRAINS TO LUTON

Region & Route:

| Eastern

The prospect of 12-carriage trains calling at Luton will move a step closer this Easter when Network Rail engineers carry out a major upgrade to the town’s main railway bridge.

The work is part of Network Rail’s £5.5bn Thameslink programme, a government-funded scheme to increase capacity and improve the railway for passengers travelling to, or through, London from the north and south. Improvement work is being carried out at fifty stations, including Luton, with a combined total of 4km of additional platform length being constructed – that’s around double the length of the runway at Luton Airport.

In order to extend the platforms at Luton station to enable longer trains to call, the bridge spanning Old Bedford Road needs to be widened. A series of temporary overnight lane closures have been put in place since November 2009 to allow engineers to carry out preparatory work on site. When its engineers install a new bridge section, Network Rail will need to close parts of Old Bedford Road, Hucklesby Way and Midland Road during the Easter Bank Holiday weekend from 9pm Thursday 1st April until 5am Tuesday 6th April 2010.

Carrying out this major piece of work during the bank holiday means that disruption to rail users will be minimised, however road users and pedestrians in the surrounding area will face some disruption. Network Rail has worked closely with Luton Borough Council, who have confirmed the following two diversionary routes for pedestrians:

·         To the west via Hucklesby Way, New Bedford Road and Mill Street
·         To the east via Midland Road, the station footbridge and Station Road

Pedestrians on Old Bedford Road, heading towards the railway station and town centre, will be diverted onto North Street and Midland Road, leading onto the station footbridge. Wheel chair, pushchair and mobility scooter users will be able to use the lift down to Station Road and then continue onto Guildford Street.

There are also two proposed traffic diversion routes:

·         Southbound traffic on Old Bedford Road will be diverted onto Dudley Street, Midland Road and Church Street to join Guildford Street or St Mary’s Road
·         Southbound traffic on New Bedford Road will be diverted onto the A505 (Telford Way, Dunstable Road, Stuart Street, Park Viaduct and Lea Road) joining onto St Mary’s Road, Guildford Street or Church Street

Anybody who wants more information is invited to attend an information session at The Hat Factory, 65 Bute Street, Luton, LU1 2EY on Tuesday 2nd March from 4:30pm to 7:30pm. Network Rail’s project team will be on hand to discuss the works in more detail and answer any questions.