I am writing to update you on our work to improve safety at Marsh Lane level crossing between Aylesbury and Little Kimble stations in Buckinghamshire.

As you will be aware the level crossing has been closed for upgrades since 19August 2023, to facilitate HS2 construction works. In the summer last year, we realigned 2km of the existing railway, to make space for the new high-speed line to run beneath.

We’d hoped to deliver the enhancements at Marsh Lane by Spring 2024, however a delay to our programme means that the crossing will now remain closed until August 2024. The existing road diversion will be kept in place throughout the extended closure.

Due to the extensive engineering work involved with the realignment of the track last year, we couldn’t complete the level crossing work at the same time as the railway closure. The realignment works required continuous access for engineering trains through the area to help facilitate moving and replacing the track.

Upgrading a level crossing isn’t just installing new barriers, over the coming months our teams will be installing a number of new signals (the traffic lights of the railway) that will control the level crossing, in addition to higher capacity power cables and object detection technology.

Work of this complex nature unfortunately cannot happen in isolation and needs to be coordinated with other planned signalling improvements in the region. Control of the level crossing’s new signals will need be updated at Marylebone signalling centre, a process that can only happen at certain intervals to allow for the new software that’ll control the level crossing to be extensively checked and ‘settle in’. Following work to retime our work, we’re now confident we can deliver the much needed safety improvements at Marsh Lane by summer 2024.

I would like to sincerely apologise for the delay in reopening the level crossing and assure you that it’s not a decision we take lightly. I understand the disruption this will cause to the local community. We’ll be writing to local residents next week to update them about the delay and with information on a planned community drop-in session in February. This will give local residents the opportunity to ask members of our project team questions about the work.