A better railway is being built between Birmingham Snow Hill station and Stratford and Leamington Spa, thanks to a £75 million Network Rail project running from February 7-17.
Two new junctions will be constructed at Tyseley, a key interchange on the railway between Warwickshire, Solihull and Birmingham city centre, along with installation of state-of-the-art signalling covering 26 miles of track. The engineering project will mean more reliable and punctual rail services and has been scheduled for half term week to minimise disruption to passengers.
The work will mean short-term changes for London Midland and Chiltern Railways passengers on the lines from Birmingham Snow Hill to Stratford and Warwickshire whilst the work is carried out. Buses will replace trains on the route for the entire 11 days, including during week days, and passengers are advised to allow more time for their journeys as a result.
The changes will affect people using all the stations on the line between:
- Birmingham Snow Hill
- Birmingham Moor Street
- Solihull
- Widney Manor
- Dorridge
- Lapworth
- Hatton
- Warwick
- Bordesley
- Shirley
- Stratford-Upon-Avon
- Leamington Spa and
- Henley-in-Arden.
Meanwhile, trains on the Stourbridge line will continue to run as normal (except for February 16-17) but will terminate at Moor Street during the work.
Andy Thomas, Operations Director for London Midland, said: "There will be major long term benefits for passengers on these routes. Ultimately, it means train services will be faster and more reliable. "However, journeys will take longer for the eleven days Network Rail is working on the junctions. London Midland is doing everything it can to minimise disruption and keep our passengers informed of both the changes and the ultimate benefits of the work."
Network Rail's Area General Manager Chris Rowley said: "This represents a major investment in the railway on one of the key commuter and leisure routes in the West Midlands. By carrying out this work, there will be significant improvements in the punctuality and reliability of both local and long distance train services."
Ian Baxter, General Manager North of Chiltern Railways, said: "We will be running rail replacement bus services between Birmingham Snow Hill, Solihull, and Warwick Parkway. Passengers may wish to use these, or southbound passengers may prefer to drive to Warwick Parkway where there will be additional park and ride facilities nearby. South of Warwick Parkway, however, we will be running a near to normal timetable although passengers are still advised to check their journey before travelling. "Inevitably, journey times are likely to be longer than usual, and there is an amended timetable from some stations. Passengers should therefore build more time into their journey or may even wish to reconsider their travel plans. Our website, www.chilternrailways.co.uk will have the latest information and details of all stations affected. I know that this will cause inconvenience to passengers and I would like to thank them in advance for their patience."
Peter Sargant, Centro's head of rail and rapid transit development, said: "We welcome Network Rail's investment in upgrading this very important rail line. This work will bring benefits to the region's passengers in the longer term. "Projects such as this are vital if we are to meet the ever increasing demand for rail travel in the West Midlands."
For London Midland, the project means that:
- On February 7 and 8, all services from Moor Street Station on the Shirley/Stratford railway will be replaced by buses
- From February 9 to 17, all services south of Moor Street on the Solihull, Dorridge, Stratford and Shirley lines will be replaced by buses from Birmingham Snow Hill
London Midland is providing a comprehensive programme of buses to replace rail services (up to four an hour at peak periods), which includes services to/from Snow Hill to Dorridge every half an hour calling at all stations.
There will be services to Shirley every half an hour, calling at all stations; half hourly express bus services to/from Snow Hill calling at Shirley, Whitlocks End and Wythall; an hourly express bus service calling at Henley and Stratford only and a Shirley-Stratford service calling at all stations.
London Midland strongly advises all passengers to check details of their rail journeys before they travel as some routes may be affected by engineering.
