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Thursday 1 Feb 2024

Rail routes set to reopen after £1m rockfall prevention project

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Train services will return to normal tomorrow morning (Friday, February 2) after the successful completion of a £1m rockfall prevention scheme at Ratho on the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line.

Network Rail and contractor QTS will finish work on site later today in time for the start of services tomorrow – meaning no more disruption to trains to Glasgow, Bathgate, Stirling and Inverness.

Working around-the-clock for the last four days, engineers have removed over 200 tonnes of material from the 100m-long, 10m-high rockface to the west of Edinburgh.

Engineers have installed specialist netting and over 160, 3m-long metal rock anchors on the site above the railway to reduce the potential of stones falling during freezing temperatures this winter.

Liam Sumpter, route director for Scotland’s Railway, said: “Our engineers have worked non-stop since Sunday night, removing tonnes of rock and installing new netting to help secure the area.

“This project could not have been delivered without a short closure of the line, and we’ve completed it as quickly as possible to get our customers back on the move.

“I want to thank our engineers for their hard work and our passengers for their patience while we delivered this safety-critical investment in Scotland’s Railway.”

Phil Campbell, ScotRail customer operations director, said: “We know how disruptive these engineering works have been for customers and thank them for their patience over the past few days.  

"We are delighted that all impacted routes will be open for business and we look forward to welcoming customers back to the railway on Friday."