Media centre

Tuesday 17 May 2016

Bridging the gap between train and tram at Edinburgh Gateway

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Network Rail engineers have passed another milestone in the delivery of the new, £41m Edinburgh Gateway interchange after installing the link bridge between the train and tram stations.

The project team have completed the mainframe of both the rail and tram facilities and the connecting bridge between the structures has now been installed as the interchange continues to take shape.

The link bridge was put in over two days using a 130 and a 500 tonne crane to lift the final main sections of the station structures and the 40 tonne main bridge section into position. In total 115 tonnes of the framework were lifted into place and connected using over 1700 bolts. 

Edinburgh Gateway is part of the £742m, Scottish Government-funded Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP).

EGIP is delivering a rolling programme of electrification across the central belt – reducing journey times and increasing capacity on routes by improving the infrastructure to enable faster, greener trains to run.

Engineers have been on site at Gogar since January 2015 working on the new interchange, which will serve passengers from Fife and the north accessing Edinburgh airport and transferring onto the tram network. The station is scheduled to open to the public in December this year.

Edinburgh Gateway will consist of two 265m, 10-car platforms and boast 1500m2 of concourse and circulation space. A step-free access bridge will link the platforms within the station and connect to the tram stop via lifts and escalators. An underpass beneath the A8 will provide access from the nearby Gyle centre.

For further information on the project visit www.egip.info and for latest updates follow on twitter @NetworkRailEGIP