Work is now underway at three Ayrshire stations to clean, repair and repaint the footbridges in an investment of £600,000.
Network Rail will refurbish the station footbridges at Newton on Ayr, Saltcoats and Barassie stations cleaning the existing paint and rust back to the metal and undertaking steel repairs before repainting and water proofing with a modern paint system.
The anti-slip surfaces on the bridge will also be replaced.
During the work, the footbridges will be closed to the public on weekends initially then Saturday nights only from January until the end of March (with two Sunday closures in Saltcoats on 24 February & 1 March).
Alternative walking routes are sign-posted in the stations.
John Turner, Network Rail’s project manager for the work said: “It is important that we keep our footbridges in good condition and looking at their best to ensure they are an asset for the local community and for those who use the railway.
“We have no choice but to close these bridges to the public during work for their safety.
“While we appreciate that this is inconvenient there is no alternative, but we have clearly sign-posted walking routes in place at these times.
“The nature of the work on the station footbridges means that some noise is unavoidable, but we do all we can to minimise this and work with consideration for our neighbours.
“We apologise for any inconvenience and are grateful for everyone’s patience while we deliver this work.”
If anyone has any questions or concerns around this work they can contact Network Rail’s 24hr national helpline on 03457 11 41 41.
