Media centre

Friday 16 Jul 2010

HISTORIC RAIL VIADUCTS ON TRACK FOR REFURBISHMENT

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

• Network Rail carrying out vital renovation and strengthening works at Enterkin Burn and Crawick viaducts

• ScotRail providing replacement bus services between Kilmarnock and Carlisle from Sunday July 25 to Sunday August 1

Network Rail engineers are about to undertake a £7m project to refurbish and strengthen two Victorian viaducts in the south west – removing speed restrictions and improving reliability on the route between Glasgow and Carlisle.

Work at the Enterkin Burn and Crawick viaducts, which are both near Sanquhar, will begin next Sunday, July 25, and continue for one week until Sunday August 1 (inclusive).

The project will involve internal strengthening of both viaducts and repairs to the stonework on the listed structures.

The work is being carried out to secure the long-term future of the viaducts and ensure that they remain capable of carrying both passenger and heavy freight traffic.

David Dickson, Network Rail route general manager for Scotland, said: “The work we are undertaking is vital to the long-term future of the line and will be of lasting benefit to the railway and its users.

"However, we cannot deliver this project without some impact on train services. We regret the unavoidable inconvenience the work will cause and we are committed to completing the project as quickly as possible."

Jacqueline Dey, ScotRail's operations director, added: "We have done everything possible to keep inconvenience to an absolute minimum. Buses will operate between Kilmarnock and Carlisle and between Dumfries and Carlisle in both directions."