Edinburgh – Glasgow Line set to reopen after flood damage

Following flood damage last month, the Edinburgh to Glasgow line via Falkirk High is due to reopen on Monday 21st September.

The line was partially washed away near Polmont on the 12th August when the Union Canal burst its banks.

Engineers have been busy carrying out repairs around the clock, including installing nearly a mile of new double track. Thousands of gallons of water from the canal washed away track and the embankment.

A shuttle service between Linlithgow and Edinburgh has been in operation while the repairs have been ongoing.

As well as replacing the track 15,000 tonnes of soil and ballast have been replaced along with over 4000 concrete sleepers, delivered by 27 engineering trains.

3000 metres of cable for the signalling and 2 overhead power gantries were also installed.

Michael Matheson, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, said: “The scale of the challenge faced by those repairing the damage to this vital route was huge and that they have delivered this so promptly is testament to the hard work and dedication of staff across Scotland's Railway.

“I'd like to thank everyone involved for enabling services to be restored for passengers sooner than first anticipated. I'd also like to thank rail users for their patience while this work was ongoing.

“It is clear that severe weather events will continue to have an impact on our transport networks in future years to come and that is why we are taking steps to add further resilience by making climate change mitigation a central theme of our National Transport Strategy.”

Liam Sumpter, Network Rail Scotland route director, said: “This line is a vital link between Scotland's two biggest cities and our engineers and contractors have worked as quickly as possible to get our customers moving again on this key route.

“The damage caused by the floods on August 12 presented a massive challenge for our engineers who had to effectively rebuild a section of the line from the foundations up.

“I'd like to thank our customers for their understanding while we have been working to repair the line and we look forward to reopening the railway for them on Monday.”

Alex White, ScotRail Chief Operating Officer, said: “Network Rail's engineers have done a terrific job in carrying out extensive repair work to the track and infrastructure, which will allow us to get trains on this vital route operating again from Monday.

“The unprecedented rainfall near Polmont last month had a severe impact on our ability to run services between Glasgow and Edinburgh, and we thank customers for their patience while repairs were carried out.”

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