Network Rail has announced that work has begun to protect the railway from landslips and rockfalls around the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct, which stars in the Harry Potter films.

Network Rail is investing £1.7m to remove vegetation from the slopes and install rock netting to protect the railway that runs from Mallaig to Fort William.

The work will protect 14 rock cuttings over a two and a half-mile stretch between Locheilside and Lochailort which includes both Glenfinnan station and the viaduct.

The project will also include renewal boundary fencing to protect visitors to the area who follow the tourist path up the hillside.

Before installing the rock netting, trees on the slopes above the railway are cut down before special abseil teams remove vegetation and debris from the rock-face. Top and bottom anchors are drilled and grouted before the metal mesh is secured.

The work in the Glenfinnan area will be ongoing until April this year.

What did the officials say?

Diane Jones, Network Rail’s project manager for the work at Glenfinnan said

“The work on the line between Fort William and Mallaig is part a wider maintenance programme which identifies areas prone to land-slip or rock fall and proactively works to protect the railway from this.

“With an ever-growing number of tourists visiting the area, it is important that we deliver these works out-with the main tourist season, where possible, or in the evenings so people can continue to get to Glenfinnan by rail.

“Doing this proactively to protect the railway reduces the likelihood of having to carry-out costly emergency repairs but more importantly, it helps avoid any potential closure of this key rural route which is a lifeline connection for passenger and freight.”

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