Section of Inverness-Aberdeen line to be closed for 14 weeks
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
RAIL passengers are being promised more reliable services on the Inverness to Aberdeen line once major works on a notorious bottleneck are finally complete.
The pledge came after the ScotRail Alliance announced plans to close a section of the track for three-and-a-half months this spring and summer.
The track will be shut between Dyce and Aberdeen for 14 weeks from May 12 while engineers install a second track between the two stations. The line is currently only single-track between those two points and is a known cause of disruption on the line.
Bus replacement services will operate during the works, further details of which are expected to be revealed nearer the time.
The work is part of the wider Aberdeen-Inverness Improvement Project, a Scottish government-funded upgrade of the railway between the two cities. By 2019 there are plans to provide an hourly service between Inverness and Elgin, providing an extra 1300 seats a day.
The majority of Aberdeen to Inverness services will also be formed of "high-speed" trains, providing 1400 additional seats a day.
And there are plans for more through services between Inverness and the central belt via Aberdeen.
There is likely to be further disruption before some of those improvements take effect, as extra upgrade work is also planned between Dyce and Inverurie next year.
ScotRail Alliance Infrastructure Director David Dickson said: "The investment we are making to upgrade the line between Aberdeen and Inverness is all part of our plan to build the best railway Scotland has ever had. This is a massive project, which will ultimately transform services in the north of Scotland.
"The work between Aberdeen and Dyce will double the track, so that we can improve the reliability of service our customers receive.
"We know lengthy line closures are a real inconvenience for customers, and we will do everything we can to keep people moving during the upgrade work.
"We will publish further information for customers closer to the time," he added.
Meanwhile, a series of preparation works will take place on the Inverness to Aberdeen line before the upgrade project begins between Dyce and Aberdeen.
These earlier works will be carried out over the Easter weekend on Sunday, April 1, and the May bank holiday weekend from Friday, May 4 to Monday, May 7.
This work will include efforts to clear track-side vegetation and carry out ground investigations.
The line will be closed during these preparation works and replacement buses will be used over both weekends.
