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Wednesday 17 Jul 2024

Major changes to Chiltern main line journeys during five-day rail upgrade this month

Region & Route:

North West & Central

| North West & Central: Central

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.