The Cross City line between Birmingham and Lichfield will be closed from Monday to Saturday next week to allow Birmingham City Council to repair the Tame Valley Viaduct.

The viaduct carries the A38(M) across the railway between Gravelly Hill and Aston stations, and the Cross City line will be closed from Monday, 27 May to Saturday, 1 June and reopen on Sunday, 2 June.

Closure of the Cross City line is necessary for safety reasons and has been coordinated between Birmingham City Council, Network Rail and West Midlands Railway.

Repairs to the viaduct are part of a 4½ year project to strengthen the main structure, grit blast and repaint its steel beams, and repair the concrete.

During the closure, a rail-replacement bus service will operate between Lichfield Trent Valley and Birmingham New Street.

While the line is closed, Network Rail will take the opportunity to carry out maintenance on the line, including:

• Cutting back and managing vegetation.
• Maintenance of overhead power lines to ensure they are ready for hot weather.
• Replacing and testing and signalling cables between Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield Trent Valley stations
• Creating a new access point near Aston station to provide a quicker access to the track for Network Rail staff.

As well as the closure of the Cross City Line, the West Coast main line will be closed over the late May bank holiday weekend because of major engineering work.

That closure will affect train services between London Euston and Scotland.

Full details about the changes to services can be found online at www.nationalrail.co.uk.

I know this closure will impact a lot of people and I’m sorry for the inconvenience it will cause. Birmingham City Council’s work is essential to keep the A38(M) into the city centre safe and open, so we have worked with them, and West Midlands Railway, to make it possible.

We will be taking the opportunity to complete our own essential maintenance of the line between Birmingham and Lichfield which will help make journeys more reliable for passengers in future.

Please check with West Midlands Railway or National Rail Enquiries for the latest travel information.

Steven Ireland, Network Rail’s Central route head of stations and customer relations