A key Midland railway line will close for three days to allow essential HS2 works to take place. No trains will run between Birmingham New Street and Lichfield Trent Valley on the north side of the Cross City Line while a HS2 viaduct is installed near the new Curzon Street station.
Closure Dates and Impact
The closure will last from Friday, May 29 until Sunday, May 31. The line will reopen as normal on Monday, June 1. Trains will continue to run normally between Birmingham New Street and Redditch or Bromsgrove on the southern section of the Cross City line. Services between Birmingham and Tame Bridge Parkway will also be affected to enable safe completion of the complex bridge installation.
Alternative Travel Arrangements
A rail replacement bus service will operate between Birmingham New Street and Lichfield Trent Valley, and between Birmingham New Street and Tame Bridge Parkway. Services to Rugeley Trent Valley will be diverted and take slightly longer. Passengers are urged to check National Rail Enquiries for journey changes.
Engineering Details
During the closure, HS2 engineers will install a new 150-metre-long viaduct that will carry HS2 trains towards Curzon Street over the existing Victorian brick viaduct connecting Duddeston and Birmingham New Street. Using an innovative fully restrained process, engineers will safely continue sliding the remainder of the deck over the railway after it reopens.
Patrick Cawley, director for On Network Works at Network Rail and HS2, said: “We’re asking passengers to plan ahead of a three-day closure on the Cross City line between Birmingham and Lichfield, which is needed to safely install a new HS2 viaduct deck over the existing railway. Using an innovative engineering solution, we’ve worked to minimise the impact of this work on rail passengers as much as possible but urge those planning to travel on the affected dates to check National Rail for information about changes to journeys.”
