Kilsby Tunnel?

[WolvertonWorks]

Apologies if there is already a thread on this but my search didn't find anything obvious, mods please close if there is a more appropriate thread to ask this.

I travelled from Milton Keynes Central to Manchester Piccadilly on Friday morning (Avanti 10:24 ex MKC) and as we were approaching what I think must have been Kilsby Tunnel (we'd certainly passed through Stowe Hill and passed the Watford Gap) there was a lot of work being done on the embankment on the rhs - looked like they were strengthening it - near the tunnel entrance and I was wondering if this is why there are RRBs between Rugby/Northampton and MKC today.

 

[jfollows]

I don’t know, but it might be opportunistic if the main reason for the RRBs is finishing work at Hanslope Junction. Last time I passed it seemed to have 80mph speed restrictions, for example.

 

[Tilting007]

It isn’t the reason - the reason is follow up tamping at Hanslope following the junction renewal.

The Kilsby works and track renewal near Ashton are making best use of available access…

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 Jan 2026 ==

I don’t know, but it might be opportunistic if the main reason for the RRBs is finishing work at Hanslope Junction. Last time I passed it seemed to have 80mph speed restrictions, for example.

The 80 was removed two weeks ago when the line was blocked all of Sunday.

This is the past part of the works today.

 

[jfollows]

Thank you, makes sense.
It was more than two weeks ago that I saw the 80.

 

[Starmill]

I remember there was a speed restriction on there for a very long time before 2020. Then suddenly they managed to get in and it came back up to 110 afterwards.

 

[Ian Hardy]

I remember there was a speed restriction on there for a very long time before 2020. Then suddenly they managed to get in and it came back up to 110 afterwards.

During the period after the COVID lockdowns started in March 2020, Network Rail managed to get agreement from the operators to close the WCML through Kilsby Tunnel for 2 weeks in May 2020 for major works.

The Rail Engineer has a long piece about the works: https://www.railengineer.co.uk/the-kilsby-genie/

 

[Starmill]

During the period after the COVID lockdowns started in March 2020, Network Rail managed to get agreement from the operators to close the WCML through Kilsby Tunnel for 2 weeks in May 2020 for major works.

The Rail Engineer has a long piece about the works: https://www.railengineer.co.uk/the-kilsby-genie/

It was quite a fantastic bit of access they managed to get into.

 

[WolvertonWorks]

Thanks for the clarifications

 

[Tilting007]

Thank you, makes sense.
It was more than two weeks ago that I saw the 80.

The 80 came on after the works (80 fast lines 60 slow lines) and was on for a week.