Engineering work that could have required up to six months of weekend closures has been completed during a single 18-day shutdown on Fife’s railway.
Network Rail closed sections of the Fife Circle between 10 and 27 October to prepare the route for overhead electric wires. The £311.5 million project will support the introduction of battery-electric trains across 118km of railway.
Bridges, signalling and overhead equipment upgraded
During the closure, three bridges at Bennochy Road in Kirkcaldy, Muriespot near Coaltown of Balgonie and Main Street in Thornton were demolished, with rebuilding started at a greater height to make room for the wires. Twenty-nine concrete beams were installed for the new structures.
Teams also put in more than 200 foundations and 20 steel structures for the overhead system, alongside four new masts on the Leven line. Signalling around Burntisland was upgraded, with 26 older pieces of equipment replaced, while further work took place between North Queensferry and Kirkcaldy.
More than 209,000 square metres of vegetation was cleared beside the railway, and platforms at Cardenden Station were modified. Network Rail said bringing the work together under one closure allowed it to progress far faster than a series of weekend shutdowns.
Why it matters for Britain
The Scottish Government investment is intended to deliver quieter, more reliable and sustainable journeys in Fife, while reducing the railway’s reliance on diesel. Completing major works in one closure also limits the disruption that repeated weekend closures could have caused passengers and communities.
