Work to electrify the East Kilbride line is getting underway, Network Rail Scotland says, with foundations for overhead lines to be laid.
Funded by the Scottish Government, the project to enable electric services from Glasgow to East Kilbride and Barrhead is the first to be completed as part of the Government’s Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan, published last year. Contractor SPL will commence on-site activities between Muirhouse South Junction and Busby Junction, including piling and construction steelwork foundations to support overhead masts.
As well as electrification, improvements on the line will include an upgrade of East Kilbride station, relocation of Hairmyres station 600 metres to the west, platform extensions and accessibility upgrades. The aim is to provide a four trains per hour eight-car electric service at peak periods. A parallel project will cover electrification between Busby Junction and Barrhead.
The Scottish Government’s plan is to decarbonise its passenger rail services by 2035, chiefly through electrification. It has recently been confirmed that partial electrification of the Borders and Fife Circle routes will follow after the East Kilbride and Barrhead lines, with battery EMUs deployed on these lines.
