Network Rail (www.networkrail.co.uk) has awarded Bam Nuttall (www.bamnuttal.co.uk) a contract for upgrade works to the Highland mainline.

The £10 million contract is part of an overall £57 million Scottish Government-funded investment in the line linking Inverness and the Central Belt.

The contract will involve extending platforms 1 and 2 at Pitlochry station and carrying out modifications to extend the track layout.

Infrastructure works will also be carried out at Aviemore station, extending the loop (a section of double track) to the north of the station.

In addition, signalling systems at Pitlochry and Aviemore will be altered and upgraded as part of the overall project.

These works will enable ScotRail’s longer InterCity trains, which will start to be introduced on the route later this year, to pass each other more efficiently at both stations.

This is the second phase of investment in the Highland mainline.

In 2012, the initial phase of the project increased the number of services from nine to 11 trains per day in each direction.