A ten-week period of work has taken place between Aylesbury and Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire in order to make way for HS2. The work has now been completed, and the line opened today (30th October) for passenger and freight services.

The project has seen HS2 contractors EKFB (Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and BAM Nuttall) put down more than 2km of track across a brand-new embankment. The new section of track will bring more reliable travel for passengers travelling with Chiltern Railways and will also support HS2 in building new high-speed lines beneath the new 100m steel bridge which now carries the current railway.

Network Rail has released a stunning time-lapse video revealing the work which involved the installation of:

• 2,953 concrete sleepers
• 2,000 metres of rail
• 11,000 tonnes of railway ballast

The work also saw the installation of a further bridge structure by HS2, located north of the new high-speed route which will support the proposed South West Aylesbury Link Road which will pass under the rail route between Aylesbury and Princes Risborough.

During the project, the majority of materials were delivered to the site via rail, including the rail ballast, which has seen the removal of 800 lorry movement off of the road network.

Marsh Lane level crossing will remain closed to road users until 2024 as work continues to upgrade it to the latest in safety standards. To find out more about the railway improvements in Aylesbury, please click here.

Patrick Cawley, director for ‘On Network Works’ for Network Rail and HS2, said:

“I’d like to say a huge thanks to passengers and local people for their patience while we carried out our major improvements in Aylesbury, which will pave the way for HS2, Britain’s new high-speed railway.”

“As part of the project, we’ve upgraded almost 2km of track in the area, which will mean locally that our passengers and freight customers will also benefit from smoother and more reliable journeys.”

During the period of work, Chiltern Railways put a rail replacement bus service in place, supporting passengers between stations at Aylesbury, Little Kimble, Monks Risborough and Princes Risborough.

Tony Baxter, operations director at Chiltern Railways, said:

“We’d like to offer our sincere thanks to our customers, whose patience and understanding during this ten-week line closure has enabled these vital HS2 works to take place.”

“We’re looking forward to welcoming customers back to our route between Princes Risborough and Aylesbury, and staff will be on-site delivering cakes and vouchers for respective station cafes on Tuesday 31 October as a small gesture of our gratitude.”

“We know that this has been a long period of disruption, and are pleased to be sending the rail replacement buses back to the garage and resuming our train services along the line.”

Tuesday the 31st of October will see team members from Network Rail and Chiltern Railways on hand at Aylesbury and Princes Risborough stations between 3pm and 6pm in order to give away locally produced cakes to thank passengers for their ongoing patience during the project.