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Friday 24 Jul 2020

£1m rail investment to keep passengers on-track

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Network Rail has successfully delivered more than £1m of work to renew track and refurbish a key junction on Scotland’s Railway in Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire.

Between Saturday July 17 and Monday July 20, engineers worked to renew 1.5km of track through Milliken Park station in Johnstone.

More than 6,000tons of ballast and over 2,000 new sleepers were installed over the three days to replace aging track and keep the line in good condition.

Further south, near Dalry, work was carried out on a key junction to refurbish several sets of points – rails which move to transfer trains from one line of track to another.

The lines between Ayrshire and Glasgow are key routes for passengers and freight traffic and this investment is part of a long-term plan to refurbish and renew rail infrastructure across Scotland.

Between 2019 and 2024, Network Rail Scotland will invest more than £4bn in maintaining, enhancing and operating Scotland’s Railway.

Alan Ross, Network Rail Scotland’s director of engineering and asset management, said: “Renewing and maintaining our railway is vital to the continued running of a safe and reliable service for our customers.

“The line into Ayrshire is a key route for both passenger and freight services and this work will help to ensure we can continue to keep Scotland’s Railway, and those who rely on it, moving.”