Two West Highland Line stations face nine days without trains or buses

Network Rail’s £13 million programme of works on the West Highland Line will close all lines between Upper Tyndrum and Fort William and Mallaig from 9 to 17 November 2026. The closure will leave Rannoch and Corrour stations without trains or replacement buses for the entire nine‑day period. National Rail Enquiries has issued a notice that buses will operate between Crianlarich, Fort William and Mallaig, and an additional bus will link Tulloch, Roy Bridge and Spean Bridge with Fort William. Trains between Crianlarich and Oban will maintain their usual timetable, but Rannoch and Corrour will receive no service. The notice also warns that buses may be more crowded than usual, advising travellers to allow extra travel time.

The £13 million programme covers the entire West Highland Line from Helensburgh to Fort William and Mallaig. Crews will replace more than 4 km of worn track at several sites, including near Arisaig and Corrour, inside the Loch nan Uamh and Beasdale tunnels, at Arrochar & Tarbet station and across the Gleann Mama Viaduct. Drainage upgrades and culvert renewals will be carried out between Glen Douglas and Arrochar & Tarbet to improve resilience to flooding and extreme weather. Fassfern Bridge will be refurbished, a redundant bridge near Loch Eil will be removed, and vegetation will be cut back between Fort William and Arisaig.

Network Rail states that the programme addresses wear and tear and should reduce future delays and restrictions caused by infrastructure problems. Gerry McQuade, capital delivery director at Network Rail Scotland, explained that a single long closure allows a large amount of work to be carried out in one go, rather than causing repeated disruption over a longer period. This is not the first time Rannoch and Corrour have had no replacement service; similar closures occurred in October 2019, March 2024 and November 2025, the latter involving a £15 million upgrade of around 10 km of track and more than 9 000 sleepers.