Fife to Edinburgh rail services face disruption after Christmas

The Network Rail team will be working around the clock from December 25 to December 29 as Haymarket East junction will undergo a major upgrade to renew four sets of points and replace over 250m of track.

As a result, trains will be unable to pass through Haymarket station on Friday, December 27 and Saturday, December 28.

ScotRail are advising customers planning to travel to Edinburgh on these dates to consider making alternative arrangements.

A replacement bus service will operate in to Edinburgh Waverley from stations to the west of the city.

According to the ScotRail website passengers travelling from Fife to the capital will find a revised timetable is in operation and buses will replace trains between Edinburgh and Dalgety Bay on December 27 and 28. An hourly, supplementary Haymarket-Inverkeithing train service will operate until early evening. The replacement bus services will be in place until 10 am on Sunday, December 29.

The Haymarket East junction is one of the busiest on Scotland’s Railway and is normally used by up to 30 trains an hour.

The upgrade aims to to improve the reliability of the track and should mean the junction won’t need to be renewed again for decades.

Liam Sumpter, Network Rail Scotland Route Director, said: “We understand the inconvenience this work will cause to some passengers, but renewing such a complex piece of our railway cannot be accomplished without a short-term closure of the line.

“Our engineers have carefully planned this project to be completed as quickly as possible and we are working hard alongside our train operators to keep passengers informed of the changes to services during this important investment in the railway.”

A breakdown of how journeys will be affected over the Christmas period can be found by visiting the ScotRail website