£76m Banbury rail upgrade project to affect Chiltern Railways services in Jul/Aug 2016
As part of £76 million upgrade in Banbury area the railway between Leamington Spa, Banbury and Bicester North will be closed for nine days this summer.
The engineering works are to help improve the punctuality and reliability of train services on the Chiltern main line, providing Chiltern Railways passengers with a better railway between Birmingham and London.
The works are scheduled to take place from Saturday 30th July 2016 until the line reopens on Monday 8th August 2016.
During the line closure engineers will replace the signalling through the Banbury area upgrading it to a more reliable and modern system which will be controlled from the West Midlands Signalling Centre in Birmingham.
A significant amount of work has already taken place during 2015. Work was also undertaken on Christmas Day and Boxing Day when the line was closed and available for upgrade work to take place.
As well as a new track layout through Banbury station and the modern signalling being installed, the investment is also providing the necessary infrastructure for a new depot south of Banbury which is currently being built. This will provide essential maintenance provision for the growing Chiltern Railways train fleet. Parts of this depot will open later this year.
While the engineering works rake place a bus replacement service will operate between Leamington Spa, Bicester North and Banbury and a revised timetable will be in operation on other parts of the line.
Further information on the line closures and the project can be found on the Chiltern Railways website.