Engineering activity that might have required up to six months of weekend closures has been finished in just 18 days as part of the drive to electrify the railway in Fife.

Network Rail closed sections of the Fife Circle from 10–27 October, allowing engineers to work continuously to ready the line for overhead electric equipment that will power new battery-electric trains.

During the 18-day blockade, bridges at Bennochy Road in Kirkcaldy, Muriespot near Coaltown of Balgonie, and Main Street in Thornton were demolished, with reconstruction started at increased height to create room for the overhead wires. In total, 29 concrete beams were installed for the new bridge structures.

Teams also delivered more than 200 foundations and 20 steel structures for the overhead lines, alongside four new masts on the Leven line.

Signalling equipment that governs the safe movement of trains was upgraded around Burntisland, with 26 older components replaced. Additional improvements were completed between North Queensferry and Kirkcaldy.

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Over 209,000 square metres of lineside vegetation was cleared, and platform modifications were carried out at Cardenden Station.

Completing this work within a single 18-day closure enabled the programme to be delivered far more quickly; relying solely on weekend closures could have taken up to six months.

The works form part of a £311.5m Scottish Government investment to electrify 118km of railway in Fife and introduce battery-electric trains, cutting reliance on diesel and aiming to provide more reliable, comfortable and sustainable journeys.

Michael McArthur, project manager at Network Rail Scotland, said: "It's been an incredibly busy 18 days, and our teams have done a fantastic job delivering such a huge amount of work, including working through Storm Boelo and other spells of difficult weather.

"Having the railway closed gave us the chance to do several big jobs at once rather than returning over a series of weekends. That has helped us make real progress towards bringing battery-electric trains to Fife.

"We know closing the railway has meant disruption for passengers and communities, and we're grateful for their patience while this work has taken place.

"There's a lot more still to do, but what's been achieved over these 18 days brings us another step closer to a quieter, greener and more reliable railway for Fife."

More information on the Fife electrification project can be found on the Scotland's Railway website: scotlandsrailway.com/projects/fife-electrification