RAIL passengers are being reminded to check before they travel as a five-day closure of the Chiltern main line between Bicester and Leamington Spa takes place.
As part of a £9million investment, Network Rail and its partners at Story Contracting will work around the clock until Wednesday (July 31) to replace a bridge which carries the railway over the River Cherwell in King’s Sutton near Banbury.
During the 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, with services resuming on Thursday (August 1).
To keep passengers moving railway replacement buses will operate between Bicester Village, Kings Sutton, Banbury and Leamington with trains to/from Marylebone at Bicester Village, and connecting with trains to/from Birmingham Moor Street at Leamington Spa.
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 during the five-day closure. Journeys will be longer and may include travel on a rail replacement bus so I urge customers to check their journeys before setting out.”
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