Bunchrew residents 'trapped' as railway work closes only road out

bunchrew-residents-'trapped'-as-railway-work-closes-only-road-out
Bunchrew residents 'trapped' as railway work closes only road out

Residents of Bunchrew, a small community near Inverness, have been left feeling trapped by engineering works at a level crossing on the only road in and out of the area. Some residents learned of the repairs when the crossing was closed on Monday morning, with limited time slots when it was open. Network Rail Scotland has not commented on the situation. The crossing is expected to be closed for a week, affecting people living in Bunchrew as well as in the Englishton and Kirkton Muir area.

John Thornton, one of the affected residents, arrived to find the crossing closed with no workers on site, and was concerned about how emergency vehicles would be able to cross with no-one to move the barriers. Another resident, Bill Bryan, said that last week Network Rail informed the residents of Bunchrew that the road would be closed overnight, but did not inform most of those living in the Englishton and Kirkton Muir area. The only notification of the “open times” was a handwritten poster near the crossing.

Teaching and medical staff were among those caught up in the closure, which caused delays for people trying to get to work and school. Fellow resident Alastair Kinghorn called for more flexibility, saying that the times were “far too restricting”. Despite residents’ efforts to contact someone in authority, the situation remained unchanged as of writing.

If you have an idea for a story in the Highlands and Islands, you can contact local reporters at steven.mckenzie@bbc.co.uk

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