Trains set to be cancelled between Kilmarnock and Carlisle for nine days

The rail line between Kilmarnock and Carlisle is set to close for nine days.

Engineers will be working around-the-clock to deliver a multi-million pound programme of upgrade and refurbishment projects along the route from Saturday 15 July until to Sunday 23 July.

Replacement bus services will operate between Kilmarnock and Carlisle to help minimise disruption for passengers.

Work includes renewing over four miles of track at locations along the line from Mauchline to Dumfries.

In Mauchline, work to repair and strengthen the two railway bridges over Ayr Road will also be taking place with further bridgeworks in the south, at Annan Viaduct, where specialists have been working since May to carry out masonry repairs and strengthening works.

Due to the complexity of the engineering work and the heavy machinery involved, these projects cannot be delivered without the short-term closure of the line.

Train services will resume as normal on Monday 24th July.

Additional track works will also be delivered on Sundays into August with buses replacing trains between Kilmarnock and Dumfries on July 30 and August 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th.

Lindsay Saddler, head of maintenance delivery for the ScotRail Alliance, said: “The work we are undertaking is vital for the long-term future reliability of the line and part of our commitment to delivering the best railway Scotland has ever had.

“Our engineers will be working around-the-clock to complete this complex programme as quickly as possible. We understand the inconvenience these works will cause to some passengers, residents and motorists and we are working hard to keep disruption to a minimum.