East coast rail passengers face weeks of further disruption in the wake of a bridge wall collapse between Montrose and Stonehaven.
It follows significant damage to a sidewall on the near 180-year-old structure at Tewel on January 15.
The scene is just a mile from the site of the Carmont derailment in August when three men died after a train hit a landslip.
Rail chiefs have said the Montrose to Stonehaven stretch of the line will stay closed until February 22.
Network Rail said “round-the-clock” work will be undertaken to repair the masonry fall from the wall on the southbound side of the bridge.
Full structural assessments on the bridge – which was built in the 1840s – have now been completed by specialist engineers.
The weather has been blamed for the parapet collapse and engineering teams face a major task due to the remote nature of the site and the potentially hazardous winter conditions over the next few weeks.
Repair plans are in place to repair the bridge to fix the damaged parapet and provide additional strengthening of the bridge deck beneath the southbound line.
Engineers will first install additional concrete supports on the bridge deck to help retain and support the track and ballast.
The parapet wall will then be reconstructed and ties installed on the bridge to further strengthen the masonry on the structure.
Once those works are complete, the ballast and track will be relaid.
Rural location and height of structure present challenges
Network Rail’s capital delivery director for Scotland’s railway, Kris Kinnear, said: “We’re working hard to quickly deliver these repairs and reopen the line, but these are significant engineering works and will take time to complete.
”The rural location of the bridge and the fact our engineers will be working at considerable height in an exposed location also mean this project is a challenging one for our team.
“We are working around-the-clock to safely reopen the railway as soon as we possibly can for our customers.”
Network Rail said the bridge was last inspected in October 2020.
It also received a detailed examination in March 2018.
There was no significant deterioration in its structural condition found during those inspections, the company said.
Investigations to establish the cause of the parapet’s failure are ongoing.
Network Rail said additional inspections have also been carried out as a precaution on other similar bridges between Montrose and Aberdeen.
