Friday 9 Sep 2005
£3.6 MILLION RAIL INVESTMENT ON EAST COAST MAIN LINE
- Region & Route:
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Scotland’s Railway: Scotland
Network Rail is investing £3.6 million in track improvements between North Berwick and Edinburgh. Track renewal work will take place at Ayton, East Linton, Fortune Bank, Grantshouse, Portobello, Reston, St Margarets and Wallyford. The programme of work will be carried out at weekends between Saturday 10 September and Sunday 9 October.
Peter Leppard, Network Rail’s Acting Route Director said: “This major investment in the East Coast Main Line involves the renewal of over seven miles of rail as well as new ballast and sleepers in large sections of the area. The project is part of our commitment to improving the rail infrastructure in Scotland and will mean that commuters in the North Berwick area will benefit from smoother, quieter and more reliable journeys.
“By doing this work at weekends we hope to keep passenger disruption to a minimum and have worked with the train operating companies to provide alternative travel arrangements. We would like to thank rail users and our line-side neighbours for their patience while these track renewals are carried out.”
Work will take place at the following locations:
- Ayton between 10 & 16 September and 24 & 30 September
- East Linton between 10 & 16 September
- Fortune Bank between 17 & 23 September
- Grantshouse between 8 October & 14 October
- Portobello between 8 October & 14 October
- Reston between 24 & 30 September
- St Margarets between 24 & 30 September
- Wallyford between 17 September & 7 October
As a result of the engineering work, weekend train services between North Berwick and Edinburgh will be suspended from Saturday 10 September to Sunday 9 October.
The following arrangements have been made by the train operating companies:
On Saturdays a replacement bus service will operate between North Berwick station and Newcraighall station calling at Drem, Longniddry, Prestonpans, Wallyford and Musselburgh. The bus service will connect into shuttle train services between Newcraighall and Edinburgh. As a result Bathgate, Dunblane and Newcraighall services will start from and terminate at Edinburgh. Glasgow Central to North Berwick services will also start from and terminate at Edinburgh.
On Sundays a replacement bus service will operate between North Berwick and Edinburgh Waverley calling at all stations.
Journeys may take longer than normal. First ScotRail regret that heavy luggage, cycles,
wheelchairs and large prams cannot be carried on the replacement buses. Wheelchair users needing help with their journey should contact 0845 605 7021 in advance for information. First ScotRail apologise for any inconvenience caused.
GNER will run an hourly train service to/from Edinburgh via Carlisle throughout Saturday and from lunchtime on Sundays. Replacement coach services will serve stations between Newcastle and Edinburgh. GNER will not be running train services to/from Glasgow or Motherwell; passengers are advised to use Virgin/First ScotRail services. A coach service will be provided between Edinburgh and Motherwell. Trains between Edinburgh and Aberdeen/Inverness will run as normal.
Alternative travel arrangements will be provided for Virgin Train customers, by coach between Edinburgh, Dunbar and Berwick, to connect with trains or by rail via Carlisle, depending on destination.
Passengers are advised to check travel details in advance by contacting National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50 or
www.nationalrail.co.uk
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£3.6 million rail investment on East Coast Main Line
About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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