A major Highland rail line will reopen on Monday after major repairs were completed ahead of schedule.
The West Highland Line was closed on Sunday, August 4 after heavy rain battered the country, causing sections of ballast and embankment to be washed away and submerged by landslips.
Further severe weather a week later caused parts of the line to be blocked by debris at Arrochar.
Since the line closure, Network Rail teams have worked on the damaged sites – strengthening embankments and rebuilding the track bed before reinstating the railway.
More than 3,000 tonnes of rock, including 350 one-tonne rock armour blocks, was delivered to the site and used to rebuild and support the embankments.
Transport secretary Michael Matheson said:”I want to thank the workforce who have put in a tremendous effort to get this work complete.
“Their dedication and commitment to getting these repairs carried out has ensured that the line has been completed early to get passenger services re-established.”
Alex Hynes, managing director of Scotland’s Railway said: “This was a very complex series of repairs, because we needed to reconstruct the slope beneath the line – replacing thousands of tonnes of lost material – before repairing the tracks above.
“It was made even more challenging by the remote location, but our teams have worked superbly well to get the job done safely.”
The site south of Crianlarich is the last section of the line to complete repairs with sections north of Crianlarich to Oban re-opening on Monday, August 12 and a landslip at Arrochar, to the south, cleared and the line re-opened on Thursday, August 15.
