Media centre

Thursday 21 Mar 2013

Easter signals changes for Glasgow rail network

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

• Buses to replace trains on the south-side over Easter weekend as Network Rail completes major signalling upgrade

Network Rail engineers will complete a £35m, two-year-long project to upgrade signalling systems on the south-side of Glasgow over the Easter weekend.

Part of an ongoing programme of enhancement and renewal across the network, the scheme has replaced aging signalling equipment on the East Kilbride, Barrhead, Netwton, Neilston and Cathcart Circle lines and enhanced track and capacity at key locations.

Over the Easter weekend control of the new signalling systems will be transferred to the state-of-the-art West of Scotland Signalling Centre in north Glasgow.

This transfer can’t be made without a short-term closure of the East Kilbride, Barrhead, Netwton, Neilston and Cathcart Circle lines between Saturday, March 30, and Monday, April 1.

During the engineering works the following service alterations will be in place:

Cathcart Circle / Neilston / Newton

A replacement bus service will be in operation. Due to road restrictions, there will be no replacement bus service at Maxwell Park – passengers travelling to / from Maxwell Park, should use bus services at Pollokshields West and Crossmyloof stations.

East Kilbride

A replacement bus service will operate in both directions.

Barrhead / Kilmarnock

Services will start / terminate at Barrhead and replacement buses will operate between Glasgow and Barrhead, calling at all stations.

A Network Rail spokesman said: “These engineering works are part of a major investment in the long-term future of Scotland’s railway.

“The work we are undertaking is very complex and cannot be delivered without some impact on train services, but we are working closely with train operators to limit disruption and to deliver these enhancements as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

A ScotRail spokeswoman added: “We’re arranging buses to keep inconvenience to a minimum. However, we are advising customers to allow extra time for their journeys, especially if they have bus and train connections. They should also be aware that the start times of buses may differ from scheduled train times.”