Inverness to Perth rail services cancelled this weekend

Trains between Inverness and Perth are to be replaced by buses between tonight and Tuesday morning.

The line closure between end of service today and the start of Tuesday morning is part of upgrades for the Highland line that will see new track laid at Aviemore, testing of newly-installed signalling systems at Aviemore and Pitlochry and the introduction of longer platforms at Pitlochry.

It should mark the completion of the Highland Main Line Improvement Project, allowing more trains to run on the route, reducing average journey times by around 10 minutes and enabling potential improvements to the times of the first and last trains between Inverness and the central belt.

Matthew Spence, route delivery director for Network Rail said: "The upgrades we are delivering to both track and signalling on the Highland main line are vital to delivering more and faster trains and providing greater choice for customers.

"We will be working around-the-clock to complete this complex programme as quickly as possible and, while we understand the inconvenience this will cause to some passengers and residents, such a huge engineering project cannot be delivered safely and efficiently without the closure of the line."

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.