Emergency engineering works to fix flood-damage to the West Coast Mainline near Carstairs have now been completed.
The line will reopen for passenger trains on Friday, January 6, but customers are being urged only to travel if their journey is essential as services on the line will be severely limited by ongoing RMT strike action.
Engineers have been working around-the-clock to repair and reopen the line since heavy rain on December 30 caused a landslip beneath the tracks – destabilising the foundations of the railway.
Over the last week, work has been undertaken to remove hundreds of tonnes of loose material from beneath the line, regrade the slopes and install over 300 tonnes of new stone to stabilise the embankment.
The track has also been relaid and signalling systems tested ahead of the line reopening on Friday.
Liam Sumpter, Network Rail Scotland route director, said: “Our engineers have worked as quickly as possible to complete these repairs and reopen the railway.
“This was a very challenging project, with hundreds of tonnes of material having to be removed and significant repairs made to over 40 metres of the railway.
“We appreciate the inconvenience the closure of the line has caused and we thank everyone for their understanding during these recovery works.”
Barry Milsom, executive director of operations and safety at Avanti West Coast, said: “We’re pleased the West Coast Mainline has now reopened north of Carlisle following repairs to the tracks and would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding while Network Rail carried out this urgent work.
“While our services to and from Glasgow can resume on Friday 6 January, a significantly reduced timetable will be in place on this day, as well as Saturday 7 January due to strike action. Therefore, we strongly encourage customers travelling to and from Scotland to make their journeys on Sunday 8, Monday 9 or Tuesday 10 January when we’ll be operating our full timetable.
“If you’re no longer able to travel, you can claim a full fee-free refund from where you bought your ticket. For the latest updates about your journey, please check www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk before travelling.”
Passengers planning to travel south on strike dates should check their journey before travelling at https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ or with their individual train operator.
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