Busway Construction
Busway Construction finally began in 2010, some 20 years after the final weedkiller train went down the branch behind 20902 and 20905 on April 26th 1990. Construction took 3 years with the budget exceeded by 100% eventually coming close to 100 million to build. All bar one of the former branch railway bridges were replaced or in the case of the New Bedford Rd and Guildford Rd in Central Luton were demolished and the busway built at a new lower level. Traces of bridge pillars from these 2 bridges remain in situ.
The M1 Dunstable branch overbridge which had been put in during initial construction of the motorway in 1958 and was built for double track. This allowed the busway and adjoining cycle path to be squeezed in without replacement saving much in costs and time.
3 views from Dog Kennel Bridge in Dunstable showing busway construction in April 2012, a Thorn bound bus in Jan 2026 and happier scenes in Jan 87
The only other surviving bridge (for now) is a road overbridge over the old Bute St – Wheathamsted section in Luton on the airport extension standard bus only roadway near the new Power Court building works.
The double track busway was built on concrete tracks with a wide and popular cycle path alongside. The sheer width of the new tracks meant virtually all former branch railway relics were swept away. Intermediate busway stations were built at Stanton Road and Clifon Road. The completed Busway involves 6.1 miles of segregated bus only tracks, 4.8 miles of which concrete track which buses guide wheels lock into the grooves at speeds of 50 mph speeds with the drivers hand free in sections.
Busway Operation
The Busway officially opened on September 24th 2013 some 23 years after the last train. At this time with just 2 intermediate stations a keen driver could complete the 4.5 mile journey from Central Dunstable to Luton in under 10 minutes via the Busway. In 2016 additional stations at the foot of Blows Downs at Jeansway (a lovely rural feeling spot to wait for a bus) and Chaul End were added along with White Lion Retail Park and Portland Ride stations which were also opened on the Western End of the Busway.
Various infrastructure, safety measures plus more buses using the Central busway section in particular has reduced the Dunstable – Luton journey time to 15mins, still a good bit quicker than the journey by car..
Arriva, Centrebus and Grant Palmer all currently operate services along the busway with frequent buses approximately every 3-5 minutes between 0500-2359. The airport market is presumably the main driver in half hourly Busway services all night from 0000-0459. More recently Stagecoach East’s service MK1 has started using the Busway between Luton and Chaul End too. Stagecoach East and Grant Palmer use deckers on the busway.
In Autumn 2026 services from Aylesbury, L.Buzzard, M.Keynes, H.Regis, Dunstable (all areas) and Thorn all feed into the busway.
An Arriva Evora crosses the sole surviving major railway feature in July 2025, the as yet surviving rail bridge installed when the M1 (below) first opened in 1959
Incidents
A few Bus derailments and pedestrian fatalities have unfortunately occurred but despite numerous “car traps” examples of cars and becoming stuck on the Busway continue to occur and cause chaos to Busway bus services.
A farce near Dunstable Jeansway on the busway in March 2026, thanks to Craig Ross for the phot
The Environment and the Busway
Compared with diesel spewing buses, a 20-30 minute frequency Thameslink service from stations at Houghton Regis, Dunstable and West Luton to Luton, London St Pancras and beyond operated by an electric class 700 unit wins hands down on the environmental impact of the Busway.
Journey times from Dunstable to London would be around 35-40 mins with a through service rather than having to change from bus to train at Luton often with a long wait!
So instead of Dunstable becoming more of a commuter town for London and its associated wealth benefits, the Busway perhaps makes Dunstable a dormitory suburb of Luton and it’s airport. Dunstable’s town centre continues to decline year by year, road traffic congestion remains an ongoing problem even delaying bus services once they are off the busway.
Final thoughts
So should the Dunstable branch have been reopened as an electrified railway to Luton and beyond back in 1992? or has the Busway proved a success with good returns to the taxpayer, Bus companies, the environment and passengers….
I’ll let you decide..
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