A ten-day closure of the West Highland line will have serious consequences to the economy of the area, say business owners.
Network Rail announced essential works on the Crianlarich to Fort William section of the popular route for maintenance.
While a bus replacement service will be in place to the major stops on the line, there will be no service to remote Corrour and Rannoch – a favourite for film buffs, walkers and trainspotters.
With no access by road, Corrour station will be cut off for ten days while the works take place, on the Auch Viaduct between October 5-14. Corrour was made famous in the 1996 film Trainspotting – as the “great outdoor scene”, one of the UKs biggest grossing films of all time.
A spokeswoman for Corrour Station House said: “We rely on the railway entirely for our business. We advertise the fact that we are only accessible by train, it’s part of the charm of the Station House that you can’t drive here.”
John Rogers, who runs an outdoor walking business said: “We already have bookings for October – and no one from Network Rail has said when this closure is going to be.
“People will have already have made arrangements to be in the area for this trip. I know of other organisations who also use this route – as it is a good two or three-day challenge – but only completely do-able because of the rail line.”
A spokesman for Network Rail said: “We’re carrying out vital works at several points on the West Highland Line during this time.
“We’ll be refurbishing the Auch Viaduct which will involve lifting the rail track so we can replace the wooden deck underneath. The metalwork on the structure will also be repaired and repainted.
“Elsewhere, we’ll be lifting track to replace drainage culverts under the line.
“As these are very complex pieces of work it is unfortunately not possible to complete them without closing the line for a short time.
“We understand the inconvenience engineering works can cause to some customers and always try to deliver significant projects like these outwith the peak tourist seasons.”
A ScotRail spokesman said: “We will do everything we can to keep people moving when Network Rail carry out these vital improvement works.”
He confirmed that while rail replacement buses will operate between Crianlarich and Fort William, and also serve Spean Bridge, Tulloch and Roy Bridge. But, due to inaccessibility, there will be no replacement service at Rannoch and Corrour stations for this period.
