New all-electric Paisley Canal line

A fully electrified service is now running on the Paisley Canal line following a £12m upgrade of the route.

The award-winning project started in August 2012 and has been delivered in just four months and at less than half the £28m the upgrade was originally expected to cost.

The electrification of the line is the first major project to have been delivered under a landmark new alliance between Network Rail and ScotRail, with both organisations working closely to identify time and cost savings for the project.

More seats, better services

Passengers will now benefit from a more comfortable and reliable train service and an increase in seats on services. The electric trains operating on the route will also be quieter and more eco-friendly and at peak times will include the newest trains in ScotRail’s fleet, the air-conditioned class 380s.

The successful on-time completion of this scheme demonstrates how the rail industry, working closely together, can enhance the service it provides to the public while cutting the cost of projects.

The work

The project involved:

• Electrifying five miles of the route from Corkerhill to Paisley Canal station
• Rebuilding the platform at Hawkhead
• Lowering sections of track along the route to allow the new overhead power cables to run beneath bridges on the line

Savings

Significant cost saving were made by adopting an innovative approach to how the line was electrified. The use of extended ‘neutral’ sections when passing under overhead structures meant no bridges needed to be raised reducing costs by £millions.

Savings were also achieved as a result of ScotRail waiving its right to disruption compensation payments from Network Rail during the work and by both organisations working to maximise the time engineers had available at evenings, weekends and during a nine-day closure of the line in mid-October 2012.