An ageing railway crossing in rural Perthshire could become unmanned as part of an upgrade to help cope with high-speed trains.
The Murie crossing, south of the A90 at Glendoick, has been earmarked for improvements by Network Rail.
It is part of a massive overhaul of services across Perthshire and beyond.
Planning consent was secured earlier this summer for a multi-million-pound overhaul of Pitlochry train station, which will help cut journey times between Perth and Inverness by 10 minutes.
Improvements at Murie, including the installation of a new automatic barrier, will also be a boost to passengers, Network Rail said.
A spokesman said: “The renewed level crossing will provide modern technical advances unavailable to the existing barrier system.
“It has been designed to make improvements to the safety of the operation of the crossing.
“The current situation requires the barrier to be operated manually by track staff, which does not provide an effective operation. The new crossing automates this function, enabling engineering works to proceed and it does not require an onsite operator.
“This ensures that the timing of the barrier down time is exact and guarantees the correct warning time as determined by the speed of any approaching train.”
In paperwork submitted to Perth and Kinross Council planners, Network Rail said it hopes to increase the speed at Murie from 90mph to 100mph.
“These are significant improvements in line speed reducing travel time for train passengers,” the spokesman said. “The proposal increases resilience and reliability of the crossing, its components and its operation. The equipment is more robust and the road traffic lights will be changed to LED, improving visibility and thereby safety at the crossing.”
Network Rail is spending about £20 million upgrading the Highland mainline.
As well as cutting journey times, it will also clear the way for a more frequent services and faster intercity trains.
The work at Pitlochry is expected to get under way over five weekends in October and November and passengers have been warned to expect some line closures.
