Network Rail completes 18-day Fife electrification closure with three bridges demolished

Network Rail has completed an 18-day closure of sections of the Fife circle, demolishing three bridges and installing more than 200 overhead line foundations in work it said would otherwise have taken up to six months of weekend shutdowns.

The infrastructure owner said it closed parts of the route between 10 and 27 October so engineers could work around the clock preparing the line for the overhead wires that will power new battery-electric trains.

Bridges at Bennochy Road in Kirkcaldy, Muriespot near Coaltown of Balgonie and Main Street in Thornton were demolished and work started on rebuilding them at a greater height to make room for the wires. Network Rail said 29 concrete beams were installed for the new structures.

Michael McArthur, project manager at Network Rail Scotland, said: "Having the railway closed gave us the chance to do several big jobs at once rather than returning over a series of weekends. That has helped us make real progress towards bringing battery-electric trains to Fife."

The work completed

Alongside the bridge work, teams installed more than 200 foundations and 20 steel structures for the overhead line equipment, plus four new masts on the Leven line, Network Rail said.

Signalling around Burntisland was upgraded, with 26 pieces of older equipment replaced, and further signalling upgrades were completed between North Queensferry and Kirkcaldy. More than 209,000 square metres of lineside vegetation was cleared and the platforms at Cardenden station were modified.

Network Rail Scotland's project page had set out the closure in three windows: Inverkeithing to Thornton North from 10 to 20 October, Thornton North, Cupar and Hilton Junction from 20 to 24 October, and Lochgelly and Glenrothes from 24 to 28 October. Network Rail first announced the October programme on 10 July 2026, describing it as bridge replacements, track and signalling upgrades and other improvements.

McArthur said the teams worked through Storm Boelo and other spells of difficult weather during the 18 days. "There's a lot more still to do, but what's been achieved over these 18 days brings us another step closer to a quieter, greener and more reliable railway for Fife," he said.

The investment

Network Rail said the work forms part of a £311.5m Scottish Government investment to electrify 118km of railway in Fife and introduce battery-electric trains. Transport Scotland's fleet transition page puts the figure differently, saying the Scottish Government announced £342m on 5 September 2025 to electrify the Fife and Borders routes for battery-electric trains.

The Scottish Government's infrastructure investment plan update of August 2025 lists a separate £29.4m feeder station at Thornton, excluded from the £311.5m, which it said is planned to be available for use from December 2026.

The same update said delivery timescales will be aligned with the outcome of the ScotRail Suburban Fleet procurement, which began in July 2025 with a Periodic Indicative Notice. Network Rail Scotland's project page says the electrification will be completed ahead of the arrival of the new trains, without giving a date.

Transport Scotland said ScotRail has been authorised to procure the battery-electric fleet for Fife and Borders services, along with new electric trains for the Glasgow suburban area. It said two thirds of ScotRail's passenger trains are approaching the end of their usable life, and its strategy includes plans to decarbonise Scotland's rail passenger services by 2045.

The project timeline records a nine-day closure between Haymarket and Dalmeny, completed in January 2026, as an earlier phase. Network Rail said in October 2022 that electrification of the Leven line, part of the £116.6m Levenmouth project, forms part of the wider Fife programme.

What happens next

The road closures that accompany the bridge rebuilds will run well into 2027. Network Rail said Bennochy Road in Kirkcaldy is closed until July 2027 to allow the bridge to be rebuilt.

At Thornton, Main Street bridge is being demolished and rebuilt in three phases, with a complete road closure in place from 19 October 2026. Network Rail said the Thornton project will be completed by 9 July 2027.

Network Rail is also installing a new £5m footbridge at Cardenden station, built higher than the old one to clear the overhead wires, with two lifts providing step-free access between platforms. It is expected to open to passengers in spring 2027.