Network Rail has announced that work for the next stage of its £140m East Kilbride enhancement project will be carried out during the last weekend of September.

This will see two road bridges in the Greater Glasgow area removed, one next to Thornliebank station and the other close to Busby station.

The demolition work will take place from Saturday, 28 September to Tuesday, 1 October, and is happening in order to create more space above the railway line for the overhead power equipment required for electric trains.

It is anticipated that the bridges will be replaced in 2025, and electric train services will begin operating on the line in December 2025.

Earlier this year, two bridges on the line were rebuilt in order to provide the clearance required for electric operation, while another bridge was demolished without replacement.

During the upcoming works, no trains will run on either the East Kilbride or Barrhead line.

Network Rail is making use of the line closures to carry out other infrastructure projects at the same time.

These include the installation of a new accessible footbridge for the new Hairmyres station, track renewal at Busby Junction, and drainage work along the East Kilbride line.

Progress is being monitored by the Scottish government, with Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop having visited in July of this year.

The East Kilbride improvement project will also see major upgrades to East Kilbride railway station.

The project is being completed by Network Rail in partnership with contractors SPL Powerlines, Story, AmcoGiffen, Siemens, Rail Systems Alliance Scotland and QTS.

Our aim across all these works is to enhance and improve the infrastructure for our passengers and freight customers.

The work to Busby Junction is critical engineering that will help improve reliability. Although there will be short-term disruption, the long-term benefits means that by renewing the junction, work won’t be required on this scale for many years to come.

Eddie McLoone, project manager, Network Rail