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Monday 23 Apr 2018

Major work to double-track railway between Aberdeen and Dyce set to begin

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Network Rail engineers will be working around-the-clock from mid-May to deliver a multi-million-pound upgrade to the railway between Aberdeen and Dyce.

From May 12 to August 20 2018, the line between Aberdeen and Dyce will be closed to allow engineers to double the track through the area and carryout bridge upgrades and signalling enhancements.

During the 14-week closure, hundreds of engineers will work thousands of hours laying a total of 12 miles of rail over 20,000 sleepers and replacing or refurbishing five bridges on the line.

The work is part of the Scottish Government-funded Aberdeen-Inverness Improvement Project to reduce journey times and increase capacity on the route between the two cities.

Once complete, the project will provide a day-time hourly commuter service between Inverness and Elgin by December 2018 and a half hourly service between Aberdeen and Inverurie by the end of 2019, and increase end-to-end services to an hourly frequency in the longer term.

Buses will replace trains between Aberdeen and Dyce and journeys will take longer than normal while we deliver this vital investment in Scotland’s railway.

Billy McKay, Network Rail senior programme manager, said: “This project and the new services it will enable will help to improve the flexibility the railway can offer the expanding communities around Aberdeen – opening up new job and leisure opportunities.

“Our engineers will be working around-the-clock to complete this complex programme as quickly as possible.

“We understand the inconvenience these works will cause to some passengers and residents, however, such a significant investment in the railway cannot be delivered without this short-term closure of the line.

“We are encouraging customers to leave extra time for travel, and plan journeys in advance.”

More travel information is available at scotrail.co.uk/improvements as well as on the ScotRail app.

During the closure of the line, engineers will:

• Carryout embankment and track bed works  to prepare the line for a second track
• Alter or replace five structures along the route between Aberdeen and Dyce
• Lay 12 miles of new rail over 20,000 new sleepers and 70,000 tons of new ballast
• Install new signalling systems between Aberdeen and Dyce.