Upgrade of West Highland line to begin this weekend

Starting this weekend (October 5th) Network Rail will be upgrading and refurbishing parts of the West Highland Line in Scotland.

From Saturday 5th October until service begins on Monday 14th October, the line will be closed between Crianlarich and Fort William to allow the engineering works to be completed.

Network Rail engineers will be working around the clock to renew drainage systems and also to refurbish and repaint bridges near Spean Bridge and Corrour. At the Auch Viaduct near Bridge of Orchy, the timber deck will be renewed and the metalwork will be repaired and painted.

Between Tyndrum Upper and Bridge of Orchy the drainage culverts beneath the track will be upgraded.

Buses will replace trains along the closed section of the line and will call at all stations except Corrour and Rannoch.

What did the officials say?

Lindsay Saddler, head of maintenance for Network Rail Scotland, said:

“We need to carry out vital works at several points on the West Highland Line during this time.

“One of these jobs will be refurbishing the Auch Viaduct which involves lifting the track so we can replace the wooden deck underneath. The metalwork on the structure will also be repaired and repainted.

“Elsewhere, we’ll be renewing and rebuilding drainage culverts under the line, which given the recent weather, is an important task.

“These are significant and complex pieces of work and it is simply not possible to complete them without closing the line for a short time.

“We understand the inconvenience engineering works can cause to some customers and always try to deliver significant projects like these outwith the peak tourist seasons. We do though apologise to anyone whose plans are impacted by this closure.”

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