Network Rail has issued an explanation of how it used the opportunity of the Carstairs Junction closure to carry out a wide range of other work on the West Coast Main Line.

With the railway closed to allow engineers to remodel Carstairs junction, Network Rail workers were able to access the track on the cross-border West Coast Main Line to carry out work that would not have been possible – or would have taken much longer – if carried out in the usual Saturday night time slot.

Network Rail reports that it focused on improving performance and safety, with work including:

• renewing overhead lines and track
• managing vegetation
• extensive inspection of structures to inform future maintenance and investment planning.
• installing a new £16m access bridge at Ravenscraig
• remodelling Platform 1 at Glasgow Central.

Carrying out the work during the Carstairs closure saved both time and money.

Network Rail estimates that without the extended track access, the platform remodelling at Glasgow Central could have taken more than four years.

It completed the equivalent of nine months of Saturday night work on the line within the twenty-one days of access facilitated by the Carstairs closure.

As well as the major project work, Network Rail workers also progressed inspection and operational maintenance on the cross-border route, including:

• clearing 356 square kilometres of vegetation between Gretna and Lockerbie
• completing forty overhead line wire runs stretching almost 2.5km in length
• repairing and maintaining more than two kilometres of drainage .
• inspecting the stability of two hundred lineside embankments
• preparing for the summer’s hot weather
• inspecting 68 km of track to identify and remove defects.

In addition, workers removed two hundred tonnes of redundant material from the lineside area and from around access points on the route.

In total, Network Rail spent more than two million pounds on its safety and performance improvements on the West Coast Main Line in the last three months.

Liam Sumpter, Scotland’s Railway Route Director said: “The extended track access afforded by the project at Carstairs Junction allowed us to undertake work that would not have been viable or efficient if restricted to only Saturday nights.

“Getting onto the West Coast Main Line in daylight enabled us to carry out detailed inspections of structures and line-side assets. This informed immediate maintenance work and provided valuable insights to help inform future investment planning.

“Had we used normal access arrangements this work would have stretched over many months and would have been considerably more costly. Instead, we have delivered more for less in a way that has reduced disruption for lineside neighbours and for our passengers.”