PASSENGERS are being reminded that the West Coast main line will close for 16 days from Saturday, March 4 as engineers deliver a 'vital programme of work' to upgrade Carstairs Junction.  

The closure of the line, between March 4 and March 19, is the first phase of a three-month programme of work which will also see trains diverted and journey-times extended all services between Glasgow/Edinburgh and Carlisle until June.

The work is part of a £164m Scottish Government investment to modernise the key junction for passenger and freight services.

Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express trains will be affected.

Liam Sumpter, route director, Network Rail Scotland, said: “There’s never a good time to close such an important line but this is a huge and extremely complex piece of work that will safeguard the future of the route for years to come.

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“We appreciate that this will cause some inconvenience and would like to thank customers for their patience during this time.”