Media centre

Wednesday 30 Aug 2017

Edinburgh Waverley puts charities in the picture

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Network Rail is using the hoardings erected for Edinburgh Waverley’s platform extension project to highlight the work of leading charities and the NHS.

Information boards and adverts for Barnardo’s, Samaritans, MND Scotland, Breathing Space and Veterans First Point have now gone up along platforms 4, 7 and 11 in Scotland’s second-busiest station.

The hoardings are also being used by VisitScotland to promote the nation’s landmarks and by Network Rail, ScotRail and Virgin to highlight the new trains and rail infrastructure which will soon be arriving at Waverley.

The British Transport Police is also using the space to raise awareness of potential criminal activity on the railway network.

Rodger Querns, Network Rail programme director, said: “With over 70,000 visitors a day, Scotland’s second-busiest station provides a unique opportunity for these charities to share their important work and messages with the public.

“It is also an excellent opportunity to promote Scotland’s history, scenery and culture to those visitors arriving into Waverley for the first time and we are delighted to have been able to put the hoardings to such good use.”

The hoardings will stay in place until summer 2018 when the work to extend platforms 5 and 6, to the east, and 12, to the west of the station, is complete.

The platform extension project will prepare Waverley for the arrival of Virgin East Coast’s new Azuma trains and ScotRail’s new class-385s.

The enhancements are being delivered as part of the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) and the Department for Transport-funded Intercity Express Programme (IEP).

The infrastructure works, and new rolling stock, will help to transform travel on both routes increasing passenger capacity and reducing journey times – by around 10 minutes between Edinburgh and Glasgow and by around 20 minutes between the two capitals.