Network Rail is to begin work to upgrade two level crossings in Dingwall.

The Dingwall Middle crossing, where the railway crosses the A862, and Dingwall No.1, on Craig Road, will be upgraded to full barrier crossings featuring traffic lights, two single lane barriers on each side of the crossing (four barriers in total) and an object detection system which scans the crossing to check it is clear.

Before main construction can take place, advance vegetation clearance and ground preparation works will be carried out from the beginning of April onwards.


In addition, the installation and testing of the new equipment will require two week road closures. Dingwall Middle is expected to close from Sunday, 15 July to Sunday, 29 July. Dingwall No.1 will close for two weeks during August, with dates being confirmed shortly.

Local residents are being invited to find out more about the project at a community drop-in event at Dingwall Community Council from 3.30pm to 8pm on Thursday, 19 April.

David Dickson, Infrastructure Director for Network Rail Scotland, said: "These level crossing upgrades represent a significant improvement for rail and road safety and we hope that the community will support our efforts to install these upgrades this summer.

"Our aim is to deliver these improvements with as little disruption as possible, however, we will require a two week road closure for each crossing to install and test the new equipment."

(LM/MH)