A MAJOR railway line will be closed for several weekends with a replacement bus service in place as “vital” improvement work is carried out.
The cross-border West Coast Mainline service will face disruption at Carlisle due to a series of weekend engineering works by Network Rail this spring.
Engineers will be working on both sides of the border in order to install signalling upgrades and make improvements to the track.
Teams in Scotland will carry out track renewal, drainage improvements and infrastructure maintenance works at locations between Carstairs and the Border across weekends from Sunday, March 30 until Sunday, June 8.
Buses will replace trains from Carlisle to Glasgow and Edinburgh during the scheduled work.
Ross Moran, Network Rail Scotland route director, said the work can only be carried out by closing the line but once completed it will provide a more “reliable” railway for passengers.
He said: “Our engineers will be working hard to deliver these improvement projects as quickly as possible for our customers.
“The work we’re undertaking is vital to the long-term future of the line and will help to provide a more reliable railway for our passengers and freight customers.
“The complexity of the engineering work being completed means it can only be done by closing the line and we are urging passengers planning to travel on the West Coast Mainline over this period to check their journey in advance.”
Chris Liptrot, operations director at Avanti West Coast, added that he would strongly advise passengers to plan their journeys ahead of time while the work is being carried out.
He said: “This closure of the West Coast Mainline north of Carlisle will enable Network Rail to carry out planned renewal work to make the railway more reliable.
“During this time, there’ll be no direct trains to or from Glasgow and Edinburgh and as a result, we’ll be operating a reduced timetable north of Carlisle. Rail replacement services will also be in place.
“We would like to thank our customers for their patience and strongly advise they plan their journey, as well as check the Avanti West Coast website for the latest updates before travelling.”
