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Friday 26 Jan 2024

£11.2m railway upgrade at Dunblane nears completion as bridge works begin

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Network Rail will complete the installation of new signals next weekend as part of an £11.2m investment.

At the same time a four-month programme to maintain the footbridge and lifts at the station will get underway.

Engineers will commission and test the new signalling system from 1:20am on Saturday 3 February until 4:50am on Monday 5 February, with no trains running to or from Dunblane during that time.

It’s the final phase of the enhancement project that saw a new ‘crossover’ section, which allows trains to switch tracks and return to Edinburgh or Glasgow, added south of the station last autumn.

The station will be closed throughout next weekend as engineers also begin vital maintenance works on the lifts and footbridge, which will run until the end of May.

Passengers will then be able to use the station again from Monday, as works continue, with services also returning that day.

Chris Sharkey, Network Rail’s senior programme manager, said: “The first weekend in February marks the final stage of the Dunblane station enhancement project, as we commission and test the new signalling system.

“The new crossover section will improve the passenger experience by providing more reliable journeys. Allowing trains to switch tracks and turn back at the station means they’ll be ready to depart sooner after they arrive.

“We can only do this work by closing the line for the weekend. We know there’s never an ideal time to do this, but it will deliver significant improvements for passengers and freight customers. We also want to thank our neighbours for their patience during this time.”

Currently, services from Edinburgh and Glasgow to Dunblane arrive at platform 3 and then need to continue north to use an existing crossover to swap tracks and return south taking 13 minutes.

The new crossover means trains will be able to arrive and then depart from platform 3 towards Edinburgh and Glasgow, without having to leave the station.

This will reduce delays and improve train performance while increasing capacity for freight on the line between Dunblane and Perth by almost 40%.

Signalling upgrades being made north of Dunblane will also improve journey times.

Work on the footbridge, which begins on Saturday 3 February, will include masonry and steelwork repairs, with scaffolding to be installed around the towers to allow engineers safe access.

While the station will be closed for this work from Saturday 3 February until Monday 5 February, it will be open until work is completed at the end of May.

Across the four months, starting next weekend, 16 parking spaces at the Tesco supermarket and six on Station Road will be used to accommodate the site compound.

If you have any questions about this work, you can contact Network Rail’s 24-hour national helpline on 03457 11 41 41.  For the latest information and progress updates follow us on X/Twitter @NetworkRailScot.