Safety works set to take place in Scotland’s central belt could cause major disruptions to rail travel for four days beginning on Monday, according to ScotRail. Engineers will be installing specialist nets over a 10-metre high, 100-metre long rock face above the railway at Ratho to prevent potential rockfall. The work will limit ScotRail services operating from Edinburgh to Glasgow, Linlithgow, Bathgate, Inverness, and Stirling, with passengers having to rely on replacement bus services to Edinburgh Park station on the outskirts of the city. Services on affected routes won’t return to normal until Friday 2 February.
Phil Campbell, customer operations director for ScotRail, asked worst-affected passengers to travel only if it is essential. He said many journeys would involve trains, replacement buses, and trams, adding that capacity would be much lower than normal, so customers should plan ahead. Network Rail is responsible for the work, which has been scheduled early to prevent deterioration in the rock cutting ahead of sub-zero temperatures typically seen in February and March.
The planned works are part of efforts to safeguard the condition of the wall. The engineers functioning throughout the day will turn off overhead lines at certain points. The work could not be conducted at the weekends since these have become busier than weekdays due to the Covid pandemic. ScotRail services on affected routes will resume as normal on Friday 2 February.
Some of the services expected to be affected are Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk High, which will now terminate at Linlithgow, Dunblane to Edinburgh services will end at Falkirk Grahamston. Helensburgh/Milngavie to Edinburgh services will terminate at Bathgate, while Inverness to Edinburgh services will be rerouted via Fife and will not be calling at Stirling. Passengers who intend to travel between Edinburgh and Glasgow can still get to and from Glasgow Central via Shotts or Carstairs, but the operator warns that journey times will take 30-50 minutes longer than usual
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More