NETWORK Rail engineers have been working since March to prepare for Scotland’s warm weather.
The railway faces increased risks of track expansions, flooding, lightening strike, and lineside fires in the summer months.
Since March, teams have been carrying out essential maintenance and upgrades – including painting the railway to help reduce track temperatures, as well as rail stressing, and enhanced inspections to identify potential issues.
With major events including the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe set to draw millions of visitors in the coming months, the work is essential to ensuring the railway continues to operate safely and reliably.
Rail stressing is a key part of ensuring this. By setting rails to a neutral temperature, engineers help them cope with temperature changes, reducing the risk of buckles in hot weather and breaks in colder conditions.
In Perthshire more than four miles of rail has been stressed to better withstand temperature changes. Engineers have also completed large-scale ballast work and the clearance of more than 160,000 square metres of vegetation to improve visibility of signals and crossings.
A £1.1 million upgrade near Glasgow Central is also boosting the railway’s resilience ahead of the summer, with points at Muirhouse Junction being replaced with more robust equipment to reduce the risk of failures during periods of high heat.
Across the wider network, teams are carrying out a wide range of activity to keep services running smoothly, including, painting sections of rail white to reflect heat and help keep track temperatures lower; installing and monitoring remote sensors to track rail temperatures in real time; and carrying out enhanced inspections of track, overhead lines, and key assets.
Further to this has been maintaining drainage systems and carrying out flood resilience checks; protecting signalling and telecoms equipment from weather-related damage; and increasing weather monitoring and working closely with forecasting partners to respond to changing conditions.
Craig Milne, operations director at Network Rail, said, “We know summer is one of the busiest times of the year for Scotland’s railway, with major events bringing more people onto the network.
“Our teams have been working hard to get everything in place ahead of the season, from targeted maintenance and inspections to using the latest technology to monitor conditions in real time.
“This is about being prepared and making sure we continue to provide a safe and reliable service, helping to keep Scotland moving throughout the summer.”
