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Wednesday 4 Apr 2018

Upgrades planned for Dingwall level crossings

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Network Rail is upgrading two level crossings in Dingwall to full barriers to further improve safety for train passengers, pedestrians and motorists.

Dingwall Middle crossing, where the railway crosses the A862, is currently protected by a single barrier on each carriageway and Dingwall No.1, on Craig Road, is an open crossing, with no barriers. Both are subject to regular trespass incidents and close calls.

The crossings are to be upgraded to full barrier crossings, which include traffic lights, two single lane barriers on each side of the crossing (4 barriers in total) and an object detection system which scans the crossing to check it is clear.

Construction of the new crossings requires advance vegetation clearance and ground preparation works. That work will take place from the beginning of April onwards.

The installation and testing of the new equipment will require two week road closures.

Dingwall Middle is expected to close from Sunday, July 15, to Sunday, July 29. Dingwall No.1 will close for two weeks during August, with dates being confirmed shortly. The road closures will not overlap.

David Dickson, Infrastructure Director for Network Rail Scotland, said: “These level crossing upgrades represent a significant improvement for rail and road safety and we hope that the community will support our efforts to install these upgrades this summer.

“Our aim is to deliver these improvements with as little disruption as possible, however, we will require a two week road closure for each crossing to install and test the new equipment.”

Network Rail will be hosting a community drop-in event at Dingwall Community Centre on Thursday April 19 from 3.30pm to 8pm. Local residents seeking more information about the work are invited to come along and speak to the project team.