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, which involved reopening or repurposing the former
Dunstable Branch Lines, a disused railway line which had been closed to passenger traffic in 1967 under the
Beeching cuts. One proposal was re-opening the railway to create a
branch line of the
Midland Main Line, to run
Thameslink heavy rail services from Luton to Dunstable. This electrified, single-track route would have presented several challenges, in particular the lack of connection to the main line at Luton, which would have necessitated the construction of a
grade-separated junction to the south of . An alternative heavy rail scheme was also evaluated, to reopen the line as a separate single-track route with
passing loops, operated by a
diesel-powered shuttle train service. Another proposal was to convert the line to segregated, twin-track
light rail operation, with
on-street operation on extensions to Houghton Regis and to
Luton Airport. A guided bus scheme was also considered, which would involve lifting the railway track and converting the
trackbed to a segregated guided busway. This proposal was found to have particular advantages: it would be cost considerably less than the rail-based schemes, and the ability of buses to leave the busway and join the existing road network at designated points would allow better transport penetration of suburban areas. 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, along part of the former Dunstable Branch Lines. Dunstable Town railway station.jpg|Dunstable Town railway station in the 1900s, closed in 1965 Dunstable, The end of the line - geograph.org.uk - 145468.jpg|Disused railway near Church Street, Dunstable, prior to track removal (2006) Luton, Hatters Way - geograph.org.uk - 193053.jpg|Disused railway track alongside Hatters Way at Clifton Road (2006) File:Luton developments.svg|2009 map showing the planned conversion of the railway route (green) to guided Busway 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. 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. 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. The Busway took over approximately of the former railway line. Some remaining sections of disused railway were converted into pedestrian and cycling
rail trail routes, with
National Cycle Route 6 now following the line north-west between Dunstable and (via the
Sewell Cutting nature reserve), and a southern section between from Welwyn Garden City to Wheathampstead now forming the
Ayot Greenway. Two new bus stops were added to the Busway system in early 2016 to serve the
Chaul End area of Luton and Townsend Farm Road, near Houghton Regis. ==Features==