Stunning aerial footage has been released by Network Rail, which shows work which has taken place between Aylesbury and Princes Risborough stations. The impressive work has seen the realignment of roughly 2km of track in order to support the building of new high-speed lines for HS2 which will run beneath the current railway.
The project has been carried out using a ‘New Track Construction' train to put brand new sleepers and rail in place over a remarkable new 100m bridge, which has been specially constructed for HS2 by contractor EKFB and is captured in the footage.
The ‘New Track Construction' train is specialised for engineering and is just one of two in the UK, and on Sunday the 17th of September completed the installation of 2,953 concrete sleepers and 2000 metres of rail.
In order to keep disruption to an absolute minimum for passengers, both Network Rail and HS2 have worked together to create a new embankment which the railway was moved onto before it closed in August.
On completion of the large-scale project, HS2 will transform rail travel by creating extra space on the current rail network, allowing more local and freight services to operate.
Passengers are reminded that Sunday the 29th of October will see rail replacement buses continue to operate in place of Chiltern Railways trains between:
- Princes Risborough – Monks Risborough – Little Kimble – Aylesbury
Passengers should also note that whilst some rail replacement bus services have been finalised, there may be some changes made which are not displayed online via journey planners. Due to this, passengers are reminded to check their travel plans ahead of making a journey by clicking here.
Patrick Cawley, director of ‘On Network Works' for Network Rail and HS2, said:
“We're now over halfway through our major work in Aylesbury, which will pave the way for Britain's new high-speed railway to be built beneath the existing line and improve journeys for Chiltern Railways passengers who travel between Aylesbury and Princes Risborough stations.”
“I'd like to thank passengers for their patience and urge people to continue to plan their journeys in advance by visiting www.chilternrailways.co.uk/pra.”
Jacqueline Dey, operations director at Chiltern Railways, said:
“We are pleased that these HS2 engineering works are on time, ready for the railway to be handed back at the end of October. We'd like to thank customers for their patience and understanding while this closure takes place, and remind them to check their rail replacement bus journey on the Chiltern Railways website or app before they travel.”
We need a line from aylesbury direct to Oxford