Luton to Dunstable Busway

Busway
Luton to Dunstable Busway
Luton_busway_logo
Bus at Stanton Road bus stop, Luton
Overview
Began service24 September 2013 (2013-09-24)
Route
StartLuton Airport
ViaLuton
EndHoughton Regis
TimetableCB Travel Choices
MapRoute map
Route map

←      →

The Luton-Dunstable Busway is a guided busway system in Bedfordshire, England, which connects the towns of Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Luton with Luton Airport.[1] It was built on the route of a disused railway track and opened in September 2013. The busway runs parallel to the A505 (Dunstable Road) and A5065 (Hatters Way) for 13.4 kilometres (8.3 mi), of which 7.7 kilometres (4.8 mi) is guided track with a maximum speed of 50 mph. It is claimed to be the second longest busway in the world.[2]

History

Various studies had been carried out since 1989 which examined options for solving transit problems in the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area, including British Rail's Network SouthEast Plan published in May 1989. Bedfordshire County Council considered a number of possible schemes, including a single-track extension of Thameslink heavy rail services from Luton to Dunstable; a single-track diesel-powered rail shuttle service; a twin-track light rail system, with a possible extension to Luton Airport; and a segregated guided busway system.[3][4] The guided bus scheme was selected in 1996 as the most cost-effective option. In April 1997, the newly created unitary authority of Luton Borough Council took over the lead role in the project. A process of ongoing consultations, grant applications and a public enquiry delayed the project by several years.[5]

Luton Borough Council's early announcements for the Busway indicated that it would be designed as a bus rapid transit system named Translink Expressway, operated with a fleet of articulated buses of the Phileas type.[4][6] The route was built on the old railway trackbed of the former Dunstable Branch Lines, which closed to passenger traffic in 1967 under the Beeching cuts.[7][8][9]

After 20 years of planning, the Busway took three years to construct, at a cost of £91 million. It was originally budgeted at £51 million, but costs increased due to underground utilities, soil contamination and the removal of Japanese knotweed.[10] Design and construction was carried out by Arup and Parsons Brinckerhoff, including seven new bridges, and reconstruction of three bridges, bus stops and a new transport interchange at Luton Railway Station.[11] The bulk of funding for the scheme came from the central government, with additional funds from Luton Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire Council, with additional section 106 contributions from developers.[2] The Busway was opened 24 September 2013, five months later than scheduled, by Norman Baker MP, a Minister for Transport.[5][12]

Two new bus stops were added to the system in early 2016 to serve the Chaul End area of Luton and Townsend Farm Road, near Houghton Regis.[13][14]

Features

The 7.7-mile (12.4 km) guided section is a rollway built from concrete beams. Standard buses that have been fitted with two small guide wheels can join the track and travel along it at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour (80 km/h).[11] Because it is a segregated route, other vehicles are prohibited from using the Busway. "Car traps" have been installed near junctions with the public highways to prevent motorists from using the route.[15]

Services

The concrete rollway track
Aerial photograph of the Busway in Dunstable

In accordance with the requirements of bus deregulation, bus services on the Luton to Dunstable Busway are operated by private bus companies: Arriva, Centrebus and Grant Palmer. Initially at peak times upon opening (services A, B, C, E), buses ran up to every seven minutes.[2]

As of August 2022, on a typical week day there are 332 buses towards Dunstable. The services are: A from Luton Airport running 24 hours a day, B to Downside in Dunstable, C to Beecroft in Dunstable, CX to the Amazon warehouse on Boscombe Road, E to Toddington, F70 and F77 via Leighton Buzzard to Central Milton Keynes shopping centre, G to the Langdale area of Dunstable, Hi to Thorn, and Z via Houghton Regis.[16] There is a similar service pattern towards Luton.

Busway Routes & Destinations
Route Start End
  Route A Luton Airport, Dunstable Luton Airport Luton Airport
  Route B Downside, Dunstable Luton railway station Luton Station Interchange
  Route C Beecroft (loop) Luton railway station Luton Station Interchange
  Route CX Luton Interchange, White Lion Retail Park
introduced by Grant Palmer as double-decker summer 2017		 Luton railway station Luton Station Interchange
  Route E Toddington
used to run from Luton Galaxy, changed to LI from 29 May 2017		 Luton railway station Luton Station Interchange
  Route F70 Luton railway station Milton Keynes Central Luton Airport Luton Airport
  Route F77 Luton railway station Milton Keynes Central Luton Airport Luton Airport
  Route Hi Thorn Luton railway station Luton Station Interchange
  Route Z Parkside, Houghton Regis, Dunstable, Luton
(via the Luton and Dunstable University Hospital)		 Luton railway station Luton Station Interchange

Incidents

There have been incidents involving buses on the Busway, including a bus becoming accidentally "derailed" from the concrete rollway, and buses moving at speed colliding with stationary buses.[17][18]

A number of fatal accidents involving pedestrians have occurred on the Busway. In February 2019, a pedestrian was struck by a bus and later died of his injuries around 4:00 a.m. near Hatters Way, and in January 2020, a 69-year-old man was hit by a bus travelling towards Dunstable at the Jeans Way bus stop, being pronounced dead at the scene.[19][20] Following an inquest into this accident by the chief coroner in January 2021, Luton Borough Council were condemned for the lack of safety fencing and signage that allowed the man to freely access the busway.[21]

Future expansion

A councillor in Central Bedfordshire Council has indicated that the council has aspirations to extend the Busway to Leighton Buzzard, 5.8 miles (9.3 km) west of Houghton Regis. This extension would create a direct rapid transit link from Leighton Buzzard railway station on the West Coast Main Line to Luton Airport.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Luton and Dunstable guided busway 'good for economy'". BBC. 24 September 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Delayed Luton-Dunstable guided busway opening announced". BBC News. 23 August 2013. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  3. ^ "Luton-Dunstable Busway Major Scheme Business Case" (PDF). Luton Borough Council. April 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  4. ^ a b Chick, Colin; Dove, Keith. "Translink - Integrating Travel in Luton, Dunatable and Houghton Regis". Luton Borough Council. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Luton-Dunstable busway gets ready to roll". www.transportxtra.com. 5 September 2013. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  6. ^ "What is Translink Expressway?". Translink Expressway. Archived from the original on 14 May 2003. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  7. ^ Buckledee, John (2014). Dunstable Through Time. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445638263. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  8. ^ Holland, Julian (2013). Dr Beeching's Axe: 50 Years on : Illustrated Memories of Britain's Lost Railways. David & Charles. ISBN 978-1446302675. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Disused Stations: Dunstable Town Station". Disused Stations. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  10. ^ "Concern over rising Luton and Dunstable Busway costs". BBC News. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Luton Dunstable Busway". Arup. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  12. ^ "Luton Busway opens". ITV News. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  13. ^ Trivedi, Shruti Sheth (6 November 2015). "Busway to see improvements worth £800k". Luton Today. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  14. ^ "Busway to see £800k worth of improvements". Dunstable Today. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  15. ^ "Motorist ends up on busway again". www.dunstabletoday.co.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  16. ^ Luton Clifton Road (W-bound) accessed 23 Aug 2022.
  17. ^ "Luton Dunstable Busway: Passenger recounts horror crash". Dunstable Gazette. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  18. ^ Parris-Long, Adam (5 August 2015). "Hero stops devastating crash on Luton-Dunstable Busway". Dunstable Gazette. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  19. ^ Maguire, Samar (9 February 2019). "Man dies after being hit by bus on Luton busway". Cambridge News. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  20. ^ Carr, Stewart (15 January 2020). "Man killed on Luton-Dunstable Busway". Luton Today. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  21. ^ Carr, Stewart (5 January 2021). "Coroner raises concerns over 'dangerous' Luton-Dunstable Busway after man's death". Luton Today. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Top councillor looks at extending Luton-Dunstable busway to Leighton Buzzard". Dunstable Gazette. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
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