Fascinating aerial shots show huge-scale preparations for completing new railway flyover in Milton Keynes

The latest work on flyover at Bletchley which will entirely close the West Coast main line this weekend, over the early May bank holiday.

Pictures taken from the Network Rail helicopter show more than 100 precast concrete girders ready to be installed ahead of the full railway closure between Milton Keynes and Euston over the three days.

Cranes will lift the girders over all four lines at Bletchley as part of the East West Rail project.

The complex network of 25,000-volt overhead electric cables which power trains must also be dismantled and reinstalled underneath the new structure once all the girders are lifted into place.

Passengers are being advised to travel either side of the improvement work on Friday April 30 and Tuesday May 4.

Trains will start and finish at Milton Keynes between May 1 and May 3. London Euston will also be closed. Passengers could have longer journeys, fewer available seats, and may need to use rail replacement buses.

Tim Shoveller, managing director for Network Rail’s North West & Central region, said: “We know there is never an ideal time to shut the railway, but this major engineering project at Bletchley can only be done during a full closure of the West Coast main line.

“The first sections of the old 1960s-built concrete flyover were removed in May 2020, and it’ll be a great engineering achievement to see the gap bridged again this bank holiday with a modern replacement so East West Rail can transform journeys and improve connectivity across the heart of the country.”

To see how it will impact journeys visit www.nationalrail.co.uk/westcoast.