Coventry-Leamington railway line to close for HS2 work

The new bridge will carry the existing line over the HS2 line

The railway line between Coventry and Leamington Spa will close for eight days so a bridge can be built for HS2.

The bridge will allow the high-speed railway to pass underneath the existing line.

Workers will have to remove a section of the track and its signals and dig an embankment to install the new bridge and then re-lay the track.

The line will shut at midnight on Friday and reopen at 08:30 BST on 7 August.

HS2 said specialist vehicles would be needed to lower the new bridge into place near Kenilworth.

Work will be carried out around the clock to ensure it is finished on time, it added.

The new bridge has been built on land close to the existing track and will be slid into place

The new bridge, which is already in place on nearby land, ready for the move, weighs 5,600 tonnes, is 72ft (22m) long and 36ft (11m) wide.

A team of 270 people had been involved in its construction and it will be slowly moved into position on a sliding mechanism.

HS2 said 299ft (91m) of the existing track would have to be removed and then replaced during the operation.