Collapsed wall railway line to reopen in Aberdeenshire

The railway line between Stonehaven and Montrose will reopen on Monday after a bridge wall collapsed last month.

The 24m (79ft) section of side wall broke on 15 January, about a mile north of where three people died in a previous derailment.

The line had reopened in November 2020, nearly three months after the tragedy.

Network Rail said teams had been working round-the-clock to carry out structural assessments, complete repairs and strengthen the structure.

Final line checks will be completed on Sunday morning.

• Part of rail bridge collapses near derailment site

Network Rail capital delivery director Kris Kinnear said: "The rural location and height of the structure - coupled with the extreme weather conditions in recent weeks - made this a very challenging project for our team."

The bridge was built in the 1840s.

The driver, a conductor and a passenger died when an Aberdeen to Glasgow service derailed near Stonehaven on 12 August 2020 after heavy rain.

An interim report said the train hit washed-out rocks and gravel.