Network Rail has finished a staged programme of work at Carstairs junction which is located 26 miles southeast of Glasgow on the West Coast main line.
The project has seen the full remodelling of the junction take place over a period of 12 weeks, with all lines now open as usual, with rail operators able to run full services once again.
The 88-day project came as part of a £164m investment by the Scottish Government in order to make the junction more reliable and efficient in terms of handling the demands of passenger and freight services into the future.
Prior to the junction remodelling, it regularly required maintenance for much of its infrastructure due to it reaching the end of its operational life, leading to speed restrictions which impacted performance.
The junction has seen the installation of new track sections, overhead lines, signalling and telecoms alongside improvements to station platforms, embankments and drainage.
The project's requirements have seen logistical challenges met with safety at the heart of the project with approximately 300 people working on the site each day alongside an array of engineering trains, rail vehicles, construction plant and machinery in order to bring the programme to fruition.
During the programme of work, the junction had to be closed, causing a great deal of disruption for cross-border services.
Despite the disruption alternative routes were utilised for rail operators running passenger services, whilst Network Rail and freight operators were still able to provide haulage by rail for key supply chains by making use of different routes, which led to a reduction in negative environmental effects for the project.
The complex logistics required during the work saw the diversion of approximately 1,000 freight trains and saw a massive 360,000 tonnes of goods moved across the country in order to keep shelves stocked and production lines functioning.
Prior to the impressive project, approximately one million hours of work were completed in order to prepare the site, making sure that it was ready for the modern signalling and overhead line systems.
Jim McCleary, Network Rail's project lead for the remodelling of Carstairs Junction, said: “Closing such a key junction on a critical cross-border route has been a massive undertaking for everyone involved in the project – and for the rail industry generally.”
“Incrementally over the 12-week period we've re-opened the new, modernised railway at Carstairs – delivering greater reliability, flexibility and increasing line speeds to this critical junction on the West Coast main line.”
“The volume of work achieved during the line closure was huge and could not have been delivered practically or efficiently in any other way.”
“By completing this crucial upgrade work, we have improved the capabilities of the junction, providing better future journeys for passengers and more capacity for freight.”
“We're grateful to passengers for their patience during this work. We appreciate it has been inconvenient, but with services now returning to a full timetable, we hope that passengers enjoy the benefits this investment in the railway has delivered.”
Barry Milsom, Executive Director of Operations and Safety at Avanti West Coast said: “We're pleased to be reinstating our direct weekend services between London and Scotland from Saturday 10 June following the completion of the Carstairs Modernisation Project. We'd like to thank our customers for their patience over the past three months while Network Rail carried out these major improvements.”
“The work to renew the track, signals, and overhead lines on a key section of the West Coast main line will make cross-border journeys more reliable for customers travelling to and from Scotland for many years to come.”
And yet, £164million later, the station is still not accessible for disabled passengers or those with prams/buggies. We’ve been crying out for disabled access to this station for decades, all this work and still just 2 flights of stairs to get to the platform. Pat yourselves on your own back.
It would be nice now to see Transpenine trains working & on time next. But of a long shot really
Since the Carstairs Junction upgrade has been completed. It should help with the bottleneck on the West Coast Main Line. Perhaps a flyover or underpass would be helpful to handle with the bottleneck and for trains coming to and from Edinburgh Waverley.