Network Rail has announced that Petty Level Crossing, near Inverness will close permanently on Saturday 15th October.

The road over the crossing will close just after midnight (overnight Friday into Saturday) following the construction of a pedestrian access footpath and bridge - which will open to the public on Friday 14th October in advance of the road closure.

It is one of two level crossings which will be closed this weekend as Woodend, a private crossing to the east of Petty, will also be removed from the network.

Removal of the level crossings at Petty and Woodend is part of the wider enhancement works on the railway surrounding the development of the new Inverness Airport station.

The proposal to close the crossings was part of the planning application submitted for the development of the new station and through this process, Network Rail satisfied the conditions required to enable the Council to grant a stopping-up order to allow for the closure of the C1020 road at the level crossing.

-- Advertisement --

Following the opening of the new fully-lit path and footbridge, work will continue to create turning areas on both sides of the railway and for the area to be fenced-off so the former crossing becomes normal operational railway.

Jo Noble, Network Rail's sponsor for the Inverness Airport station programme said: "The most effective way of reducing level crossing risk is to remove the crossing completely.

"Level crossings were part of a network built around 180 years ago, when there were fewer cars and the pace of life was much slower. If you were to build a railway today it would not have any level crossings.

"We are delighted that the development of the Airport station afforded us the opportunity to close both Petty and Woodend level crossings and we are grateful for the support of Highland Council in helping us deliver this safety improvement for the road and rail network."

The closure of the level crossings comes at the start of an eleven-day line closure which will see engineers work around the clock to carry out extensive work between Inverness and Nairn as part of the wider programme of enhancements being delivered around the new station development.