Edinburgh trains to Glasgow to be hit with disruption as ScotRail issues essential travel only warning

Edinburgh trains to Glasgow to be hit with disruption as ScotRail issues essential travel only warning

People travelling between Edinburgh and Glasgow have been urged only to travel ‘if essential’ next week due to disruption caused by engineering works on the line.

The Network Rail works will run from January 29 until February 1 and will see a specialist netting system installed on a rock cutting to help prevent rocks falling onto the railway line.

ScotRail has advised that the works will mean ‘significant disruption’ on the line, with customers urged only to travel when journeys are essential.

From Monday, services between Glasgow and Edinburgh which travel via Falkirk High will terminate at Linlithgow and there will be no service between Linlithgow and Edinburgh Waverley.

Services between Dunblane and Edinburgh will terminate at Falkirk Grahamston with no service carrying on to Edinburgh Waverley.

Services from Edinburgh to Helensburgh and Milngavie will terminate at Bathgate and services from Inverness to Edinburgh will run via Fife and will not call at Stirling.

On all these services, a limited number of replacement buses will be available to Edinburgh Park, with train tickets to be accepted on Edinburgh Trams to Haymarket and Waverley. But ScotRail has warned customers that journey times on replacement buses will be significantly longer.  

Any customers looking to travel directly between Edinburgh and Glasgow can use the routes via Shotts and Carstairs, but ScotRail has warned that journey times will be around 30 to 50 minutes longer.

Phil Campbell, ScotRail customer operations director, said: “These safety critical engineering works will bring significant disruption to the services ScotRail can operate between Edinburgh and Glasgow, Bathgate, Linlithgow, Stirling, and Inverness.  

“Our advice to customers travelling between Edinburgh and Glasgow via Falkirk High or via Bathgate, and between Edinburgh and Dunblane, is that you should only travel if your journey is essential.  

“Customers travelling between Inverness and Edinburgh should also be aware that journey times will may be longer as those services are diverted via Fife, and will not call at Stirling. 

“We understand the disruption this will cause to customers journeys, but it is essential that Network Rail carries out these works. We thank customers for their patience.” 

Liam Sumpter, Network Rail’s Scotland route director, added: “The improvements we’re making on the route are vital to the safe and reliable running of the railway.

“While we appreciate that this work will cause some inconvenience to our customers, we’ll deliver this project as quickly as possible to minimise disruption. Our thanks go to passengers for their patience while we complete this essential safety project.”