Media centre

Monday 25 Mar 2024

Easter engineering work to affect Chiltern services

Region & Route:

North West & Central: West Coast Mainline South

| North West & Central: Central

Passengers are being advised to check before you travel this Easter bank holiday weekend (Friday 29 March to Monday 1 April) as major HS2 work takes place on the railway just south of Aylesbury.

Network Rail is supporting HS2 engineers in the next phase of building the 345m Small Dean Viaduct. Teams will be piling Pier 4, located right next to the railway and one of 5 ‘Y’ shaped piers that will support the viaduct itself.

Small Dean is one of 50 major viaducts on the HS2 project, which is designed to improve connections between London, Birmingham and the North while freeing up space for more local trains on the most congested southern end of the existing West Coast Main Line into London Euston.

Starting Friday 29 March and finishing Monday 1 April, engineers will be working continuously over the four days, with the railway closed between Great Missenden and Aylesbury across the long weekend. 

No Chiltern Railways train services will operate between Marylebone and Aylesbury Vale Parkway (via Amersham). Rail replacement buses will run between Beaconsfield and Vale Parkway, connecting with trains to/from Marylebone at Beaconsfield.

Patrick Cawley, Director for Network Rail and HS2’s On Network Works team, said: “The Small Dean viaduct is a major part of the HS2 route. It’s one of the only two places in the Chilterns where the new railway will be above the existing railway, and over the Easter Weekend HS2 teams will make an important step in its construction.”

“We know there’s never a good time to close the railway, but working over the Easter weekend means we can keep the railway open as much as possible during the week. I’d like to thank passengers for their patience and remind them to check before they travel during the long weekend.”

Andy Camp, Commercial & Customer Strategy Director, said: “We’d like to thank customers for their patience and understanding while our route between Marylebone and Aylesbury Vale Parkway is closed during these HS2 works. Rail replacement buses will be in operation for the Easter weekend, so customers should check ahead before they travel on the Chiltern Railways website or app.”

Details of the closure and the rail replacement bus information can be found below:

• Friday 29 March to Monday 1 April: Rail replacement buses running between Beaconsfield, Amersham, Great Missenden, Wendover, Stoke Mandeville, Aylesbury and Aylesbury Vale Parkway.

For more information about the bus service please see www.chilternrailways.co.uk/tickets-and-times/changes 

For more information about HS2, please visit www.hs2.org.uk

Further details about the Easter work across the North West & Central Region can be found here https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/travel-either-side-advice-for-west-coast-main-line-passengers-this-easter-bank-holiday