Thursday 6 May 2010

BRIDGE RENEWAL BEGINS AS RAIL LINK PROGRESSES WESTWARD

Region & Route:
Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Work to reopen the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link continues to advance westward this month as Network Rail replaces a bridge deck at Bedlormie Toll, between Caldercruix and Blackridge.

The construction activity will require a weekend closure of the A89 (Airdrie Road) from midnight on Thursday 13 May to 0600hrs on Monday 17 May. Road diversion signs will be in place during those times.

The project marks an intensification of work at the western end of the Airdrie-Bathgate rail link, with further major works planned in the Airdrie and Drumgelloch areas from May through to August.

Ron McAulay, Network Rail Director, Scotland commented:

“With much of the structural activity now complete at the eastern end of the route, our focus now moves to the western end of this major new rail link.

“The replacement of this bridge deck is essential for running the services planned for this route. With four trains an hour running in both directions between Edinburgh and Glasgow on this route from December 2010, we are confident that the benefits of this new line will be worth this short term disruption. We apologise for the temporary inconvenience.”

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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

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