From this Friday (29 May) until Sunday (31 May), workers will be installing a new viaduct for the high-speed rail line HS2 in the West Midlands.

As Network Rail revealed at the start of this month, the Cross City line between Birmingham New Street and Lichfield Trent Valley stations will close for the full three days to allow the installation work to take place.

Train services will not run between the two stations until they resume their usual timetable on Monday, 1 June.

Train services between Birmingham New Street and Tame Bridge Parkway will also be disrupted while the work is carried out. Some train services will be diverted, with increased journey times, and others will be replaced by buses. Network Rail is encouraging passengers to check their journeys before they travel.

West Midlands Railway has expressed its thanks to passengers for their patience while the work is carried out.

While the section of the line is closed, HS2 engineering workers will install a viaduct deck near the new Birmingham Curzon Street station. The deck will be 150 metres in length, and once HS2 is in operation will carry its high-speed trains over the existing viaduct between Duddeston and Birmingham New Street.

Engineering workers will use a ‘fully restrained’ method, which allows them to slide the rest of the sections of the viaduct into position. This can even happen after the railway has reopened, which will contribute to minimising disruption of train services and inconvenience to passengers.

“We’re reminding passengers to plan ahead for a three-day closure on the Cross City line between Birmingham and Lichfield to enable the safe installation of a new HS2 viaduct over the existing railway.

“This is a significant milestone in the delivery of HS2 at Curzon Street, and while there will be some disruption, we’ve worked closely with partners to keep people moving and minimise the impact as much as possible.”

Patrick Cawley, director for On Network Works at Network Rail and HS2