Luton Dunstable Guided Busway

Although this blog is mainly devoted to the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, I have in the past commented on the Adelaide Busway on Australia. With the Luton-Dunstable Busway close to being opened in the next couple of months, it seemed a good time to report on progress and point out some sources of information about the project.

The guided section of the busway is 7.5km long. It is now running late and over budget. A recent report in the  called on Luton Borough council to reveal how much the extra costs had come to. Back in February, the budgeted cost of £51.6million had shifted upwards to £55.7m according to the Luton & Dunstable Express website. However, according to this BBC report, Luton Council and Central Bedford Council's joint' share had increased from 4.7% of £51 million to 4.7% of £62 million.

The route links central Luton with Dunstable and Houghton Regis in one direction on a former railway track, and with London Luton Airport via Luton Airport Parkway rail station in the other. However, the link to the airport involves running along normal roads. The railway track from Luton to Dunstable was actually lifted in order to build the busway, when perhaps it could have been re-built and electrified as a branch off the Thameslink line. The busway is designed to allow buses to bypass the severe congestion on the roads between Luton and Dunstable.

A speed test took place on 16 May as reported on the Luton Today website, with buses reaching 50mph (which is less that the Cambridgeshire busway's top speed of 56mph).

BAM Nuttall, who built the Cambridgeshire busway, is the contractor for the Luton busway.

Here is the website of Luton Borough Council, whose project this is.

There is a  discussion group for the Luton busway on Facebook.