en.Wedoany.com Reported - Network Rail plans to demolish the Saltley Viaduct and Aston Church Road bridge near Birmingham over two weekends in June to make way for the High Speed 2 (HS2) construction project. The work is scheduled for June 6–7 and June 13–14, during which three major passenger routes originating from Birmingham New Street will be affected, requiring operators to deploy rail replacement bus services.

The demolition involves the complete removal of two structures spanning existing railway lines between Birmingham and Derby, clearing the necessary space for new line construction. This localized task forms part of the larger HS2 Phase 1 project. According to the latest official update, the section between Old Oak Common and Birmingham Curzon Street is expected to be completed between 2036 and 2039, with total costs estimated at £87.7 billion to £102.7 billion at 2025 prices (source: Construction News, 2026). Key participants include HS2 Ltd, Network Rail, and CrossCountry.

This planned engineering disruption differs from recent unplanned outages on other major networks. The two weekend closures in Birmingham are controlled engineering possessions. By contrast, North America's largest commuter system, the Long Island Rail Road, recently experienced an unplanned five-day strike that affected approximately 250,000 daily commuters before an agreement was reached to end the action (source: NBC New York, 2026). Although the HS2 works impact fewer passengers over a shorter period, the comparison illustrates how both planned capital projects and industrial disputes can cause significant network disruption.

Specific services affected by the demolition work include: Birmingham New Street to Leicester and Stansted Airport, Cardiff Central to Nottingham via Birmingham, and long-distance services from Scotland and the North East to the South West. Replacement buses will operate between Birmingham New Street and Coleshill Parkway. This work is part of HS2 Phase 1, with the latest official government update indicating that the London to Birmingham section is expected to be completed between May 2036 and October 2039, at a total cost of £87.7 billion to £102.7 billion at 2025 prices.

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