A2I summer blockade ends

Final clip: ScotRail Managing Director Alex Hynes officiates at a ceremony to mark the end of the summer blockade for the A2I project. Courtesy Network Rail

WORK TO double six miles of track between Dyce and Aberdeen has been completed, and the line was due to reopen on 20 August following checks to the new track and completion of work on new signalling systems.

The 14-week closure of the east end of the Aberdeen to Inverness line has allowed Network Rail to complete the double-tracking, signalling upgrades and replacement or refurbishment of five bridges.

The work forms part of the Scottish Government-funded Aberdeen to Inverness (A2I) improvement project. This is due to deliver an hourly daytime service between Inverness and Elgin from December, with a half-hourly service from Aberdeen to Inverurie by the end of 2019. In the longer term the ambition is for an hourly end-to-end frequency on the route, which will form part of a second phase of work.

A similar closure is planned on the line next summer to allow installation of a second track and new signalling equipment between Dyce and Inverurie, at which point Dyce and Inverurie signal boxes will be removed.