Construction underway at Conon Bridge
20th November 2012
Network Rail has begun work on the new station at Conon Bridge.
The station and car park, which will be completed by early February next year, is being delivered by Network Rail and ScotRail in alliance with Transport Scotland, HITRANS and The Highland Council.
The new facility will be open in time to help mitigate the impact of the closure of the Kessock Road Bridge from February 2013.
The project will include the construction of a new 15 metre platform, a waiting shelter, passenger information systems and cycle racks and lockers at the station by Network Rail and ScotRail, while The Highland Council will construct the car park and enhance the road access and street lighting at the station.
Transport Minister Keith Brown said: “Inverness is the economic heart of the Highlands and Islands and an efficient route into the city for commuters is vital. In order to ease congestion, both during the essential Kessock Bridge repairs and beyond, we are encouraging motorists to look at alternative means of travel.
“Additional capacity is being provided on train services during the works and the re-opening of Conon Bridge station will make it easier for people to access these. With £1.8 million being invested in measures to ease congestion during these works, the message is very much that Inverness remains open for business.”
David Simpson, Network Rail route managing director for Scotland, said: “Rail travel continues to grow in popularity across Scotland and we are pleased to be reconnecting the community in Conon Bridge to the rail network.
“We understand how keenly the reopening of this station has been anticipated, and the important role it will play in helping provide travel alternatives during the Kessock Bridge works, and our engineers will work as quickly as possible to deliver this new facility.“
Located between Muir of Ord and Dingwall on the Far North rail line, the reopening of the station will re-establish rail access for the local community after a gap of more than five decades.
Steve Montgomery, managing director of ScotRail, said: “Not only is the re-opening of the station vital to lessen the impact of the Kessock Bridge works, it will also give locals in Conon Bridge and the surrounding area more opportunity to travel by train in the future.”
Leader of The Highland Council, Councillor Drew Hendry, added: “Rail is playing an increasingly important role for commuters travelling to Inverness and is a key component of sustainable travel as we move forward into the future. Network Rail is to be congratulated on the reopening of Conon Bridge railway station with assistance from The Highland Council and Scottish Government. This is a big step forward for the Conon catchment residents and will be of significant help in mitigating the effect of reduced capacity on the road network with the forthcoming works on the Kessock Bridge.”
Photo
Conon station before work commenced.
Site of the former Conon Station
© Copyright Richard Dorrell and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
Related Businesses
Related Articles
At the Highland Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee. (Thursday 2 May 2024) Members had the opportunity to review the work the Council is doing to progress active travel and improve road safety before approving the next steps.
At the meeting of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee members had the opportunity to review the last two years of the Community Regeneration Funding Programme before agreeing changes to how the 2024/25 programme will be delivered. Committee Chair, Cllr Ken Gowans said: "Following a successful two years, it is a good time to review what has gone well and what can be done better so we can continue to build on success, and seamlessly move the focus onto how best to support the delivery of projects." "With 279 live projects and over £6million of committed funds still to be claimed, there is no doubt as to the value and impact of the programme's potential.
The Highland Council's In-House bus service pilot project was launched in January 2023. The success of its first year of operation in delivering savings and creating a valued and reliable service was highlighted at today’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee.
Members of Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee today (2 May 2024) approved the local authority's draft Ecology Strategy and Action Plan which will now move forward to an 12-week public consultation. The Ecology Strategy sets out an ambitious set of actions to tackle biodiversity loss and address the ecological emergency.
Economy and Infrastructure Committee members today (2 May 2024) agreed to direct £100K from the Council's share of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to fund a new staff training programme at the Inverness Castle Experience. The funding will enable the project team to provide specialist visitor attraction training to young people identified through partners at Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) and the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI).
The Housing and Property Committee met on Wednesday 1 May 2024 and noted the Housing Service performance report 2023/24 that met the agreed priorities and associated initiatives in the Local Housing Strategy 2023-2028. The report highlighted a number of achievements in 2023/24 in increasing housing supply.
Kate Lackie, Malcolm MacLeod and Allan Gunn have been appointed as Assistant Chief Executives with The Highland Council. Convener of the Council, Cllr Bill Lobban said: "I am delighted to say that Kate Lackie, Malcolm MacLeod and Allan Gunn have been appointed as Assistant Chief Executives with The Highland Council.
As intimated in Highland Council's budget plan, a new senior management structure is to be implemented following approval by Council 14th March. It reconfigures the senior management team into two layers, rather than three and brings Highland Council into line with other benchmarked authorities.
Today, Morrison Construction introduced some of their local apprentices who are working on the UK Governments' Levelling Up Funded refurbishment project at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness. All these apprentices have been recruited from the Highland area.
The by-election to elect a councillor to represent Ward 19 - Inverness South on The Highland Council has been won by Duncan Cameron McDonald - Independent who was one of the eight candidates who contested the vacancy. Voters in the ward went to the poll yesterday (Thursday 11 April) and the by-election count was held this morning in The Highland Council Headquarters in Inverness.
