Aberdeen-Inverness train line back fully open after 15 weeks
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THE railway line between Huntly and Aberdeen will reopened as planned today (August 20) after the completion of a 15-week-long project to upgrade the line.
Since May 4, engineers have been working around-the-clock to double the track between Dyce and Inverurie and upgrade signalling systems between Huntly and Aberdeen.
More than 10 miles of new rail has been laid across more than 41,000 sleepers as part of the work, which has also seen signalling upgraded and 19 bridges on the line either refurbished or replaced.
As part of the Scottish Government-funded Aberdeen-Inverness Improvement Project, these upgrades will help to increase services and cut journey times on the line between the two cities.
From December this year, Scotland’s Railway will be introducing a significantly enhanced service between Aberdeen, Dyce and Inverurie, including additional early and late services between Elgin and Aberdeen.
Passengers will see an increase in services calling at Inverurie each weekday from 45 to 76, with a similar improvement on Saturdays. This will mean up to three trains per hour and includes two additional morning peak trains into Aberdeen and an additional evening peak train out of Aberdeen.
The cross-city service will be improved, with 27 trains per day between Inverurie, Dyce, Stonehaven and Montrose. This includes an additional direct morning peak service from Montrose to Dyce and Inverurie.
Billy McKay, Network Rail senior programme manager, said: "The Aberdeen-Inverness Improvement Project will help to transform choice for customers on the route – meaning more services and more seats for passengers.
"Our engineers have worked hard to deliver this massive investment in new tracks, signalling, bridges and platforms as quickly and professionally as possible.
"We appreciate the understanding passengers, and our line-side neighbours, have shown over the last 15 weeks while we have delivered this important investment in Scotland’s railway.”
Derek Glasgow, ScotRail Aberdeen-Inverness project manager, said: "This has been a highly successful project and now it has been completed, it will play a critical role in delivering a better service for our customers, as we continue to invest in Scotland’s railway.
"We are looking forward to making enhancements to services on the route to take full advantage of the infrastructure improvements that have been delivered."
