TRAIN PASSENGERS are being advised to plan ahead as four weekends of track and drainage work begin on the East Coast Main Line in Scotland this Saturday (September 16).

Scotland’s Railway is investing £5.7m on vital improvements that will see the line closed between Edinburgh and Berwick from 10.40pm each Saturday until 5:55am each Monday from September 16 to 25.

On the weekends of September 30 to October 2 and October 7 to 9 the line will close from 1:30am on Saturday to 5:30am on Monday.

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The North Berwick and Borders lines will be closed on Sunday September 17 and Sunday September 24 with the North Berwick line also closing on Saturday September 30 and Sunday October 1.

Cross border services will also be affected by unrelated work taking place in England throughout each of the four Saturdays & Sundays, with passengers advised to check with their service operator before travelling.

During the project 820 yards of drainage improvements at various locations between Reston and Drem will be completed to stabilise an embankment.

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Engineers will replace 3.8 miles of worn railway track with new stone ballast, sleepers and rails, and more than 30 engineering trains will be deployed.

At the same time, de-vegetation works will be taking place with teams cutting back overhanging trees and bushes at various points on the line.

When complete, the line be more resilient and reliable throughout the year.

Liam Sumpter, Network Rail route director for Scotland, said: “The work we are undertaking is vital for the long-term future reliability of the line.

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“Our engineers will be working around-the-clock to complete these complex projects as quickly as possible.

“We understand the inconvenience these works will cause to some passengers and residents and we thank them for their patience. We are committed to completing this work quickly and limiting disruption where possible.”

Passengers can check how their journey may be affected by visiting www.nationalrail.co.uk or  www.scotrail.co.uk/.