The Alloa line in Scotland re-opened last month after the completion of a multi-million-pound upgrade project to prepare the line for electric trains. Hundreds of engineers worked over 16,000hr to install the overhead power equipment needed to introduce electric services.

The work, — part of a Scottish Government-funded programme to electrify lines throughout the ‘central belt’ — started on Saturday 17 March.

Over the next four weeks, engineers worked from Stirling to Alloa along the six miles of the route, installing and supporting cantilevers, and stringing overhead power lines.

The project is part of the wider programme to electrify the lines linking Stirling, Alloa and Dunblane to Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Once complete (in 2019), the electrification of Stirling-Dunblane-Alloa will see many services operated by class 385 electric trains, which will offer a better ‘passenger experience’, shorten some journey times, and result in less noise and better air quality for those who live and work near the railway.

Humza Yousaf, Minister for Transport and the Islands, said: “Over this four-week period, Network Rail crews worked tirelessly to install over 200 masts and 14km of overhead wiring, taking us a step closer to electric services on the Stirling to Alloa route by December.”