First phase of Carstairs Junction remodel nearing completion: South Jn Renewal 090323

Friday 17 Mar 2023

First phase of Carstairs Junction remodel nearing completion

Region & Route:
Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Passengers are being advised of changes to their journeys as the first phase of work to upgrade Carstairs Junction nears completion.   

Following a 16-day closure of the West Coast main line, phase two of the programme, will see part of the junction re-opening to allow some trains to run directly to Edinburgh – and via diversion routes to Glasgow – on weekdays.

The work is part of a £164m Scottish Government investment to modernise this key junction for passenger and freight services on one of Scotland’s two cross-border routes.

The three-month programme will see trains diverted and journey-times extended on services between Glasgow/Edinburgh and Carlisle until June.

Engineers are working around the clock to  simplify and upgrade the track-layout to clear an existing bottleneck on the network, making it more reliable and better able to cope with increasing passenger and freight demands.

During the first 16 days of the work, the focus was primarily on completing the south junction -installing and upgrading the track, signalling and overhead line equipment to enable passenger and freight services to connect to Edinburgh and to add an additional diversionary route for services to Glasgow.

Work on this strategically important junction is complex and challenging and Network Rail, alongside contractor partners, developed the staged programme to manage the effect on services in the least disruptive way.

The closure of Carstairs junction impacts on cross-border operators including Avanti West Coast, Caledonian Sleeper, CrossCountry Trains and TransPennine Express, who are operating via diversionary routes or offering alternative journey options during this time.

Jim McCleary, Network Rail’s programme manager for the Carstairs Junction remodelling project said: “Although the weather has been challenging, work has been progressing well.  As we near the end of the first stage of work, we have delivered new track, signalling and overhead lines all across the junction.

“Delivering work in the southern section enables the first section of the new layout to re-open and from Monday (March 20) passenger and freight services will begin to again run to Edinburgh and will also enable an alternative diversionary route for services to Glasgow.  

“There is no pause for the team however and the next stage of work focuses on the West Coast main line section of the new layout, building it to be more resilient and reliable with the aim of reopening in late April.

“We are grateful for the support and cooperation of the travelling public and for the patience of the local community thus far as we deliver this massive investment our railway.”

Passengers are advised to check with National Enquiries www.nationalrailenquiries.co.uk or with their train operator for the alternative travel plans for their route.

Notes to Editors

Notes to editors

During the first phase of the project –Saturday March 4 and Sunday March 19 - there were no direct services to Glasgow Central or Edinburgh on the West Coast main line through Carstairs.

Phase two of the work, taking place between Monday March 20 and Friday April 21, will see part of the junction re-opening, allowing some trains to run directly to Edinburgh – and via diversion routes to Glasgow – on weekdays, however, journey times will be longer than normal.

The final phase, between Saturday April 22 and Sunday June 4, will see most services return to normal during weekdays. The junction will be fully closed each weekend with no direct services between Glasgow Central or Edinburgh and Carlisle on the West Coast main line.

The closure of the junction impacts on cross-border operators including, Avanti West Coast, Caledonian Sleeper, CrossCountry Trains and TransPennine Express, who will be operating via diversionary routes or offering alternative journey options during this time.

Services operating on the East Coast main line during this time are also likely to be busier than normal.

There will be no ScotRail services to or from Carstairs for the full three-month period. ScotRail will run a range of alternative journey options throughout with Carstairs station re-opening on Tuesday May 30.

Carstairs Junction

Carstairs Junction sits 26 miles to the south-east of Glasgow on the West Coast main line. Currently the junction requires regular maintenance work as much of the infrastructure through the area is reaching the end of its operational lifespan. Speed restrictions are often imposed which can affect performance.

The layout of the junction is no longer suited to today’s pattern and volumes of service with 200+ services passing through the junction on an average midweek day.

Enabling works for the project have been underway since 2020 and the work delivered during the line closure will see over 200 engineers working 24/7 to upgrade the junction.

The new power supply being installed will allow engineers to switch off the overhead lines remotely to carry out maintenance, reducing the amount of time the railway is closed in future. The improvements will also bring reduced overall journey times through the removal of a 50mph speed restriction.

Passengers are advised to check with National Enquiries www.nationalrailenquiries.co.uk or with their train operator for the alternative travel plans for their route.

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
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Journalists
Network Rail press office - Owen Campbell
NR Press Office 0141 555 4108 / 07515 617073
Owen.Campbell1@networkrail.co.uk

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