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Thursday 27 May 2021

Major £33m investment for Cadder rail yard upgrade

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

As part of the Scottish Government’s on-going investment in Scotland’s Railway, Network Rail is delivering a new £33m train depot and staff accommodation facilities within the existing Cadder railway yard, between Bishopbriggs and Lenzie.

The investment will include the construction of three new service platforms and night-time accommodation for six High Speed Trains (HSTs) and a new modular building to accommodate up to 250 support staff working on Scotland’s Railway.

The new service platforms will be complemented by the installation of a new cleaning facility and re-fuelling unit which will allow for night-time cleaning, servicing and maintenance for the HSTs that travel from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Aberdeen and Inverness.

In early May the first HST test train visited site and operational activities will start from the end of June 2021 with the full facility in use by December 2021.

Up to 100 railway staff can be on site each day, working to deliver the project, as part of Network Rail’s commitment to make Scotland’s Railway more resilient and reliable.

Graeme Dey, Minister for Transport said: “This impressive new depot, funded by the Scottish Government, will service the requirements of the refurbished High Speed Train fleet that has transformed long-distance travel between Scotland’s seven cities. 

“It offers real benefits including supporting over 200 existing jobs while also creating the potential for up to 25 new roles.

“I have also been impressed by the collaboration displayed between Network Rail, the Rail Systems Alliance, Scotland and the various contractors who have been working together to deliver this new facility.”

Alex Sharkey, Network Rail Programme Director for the Rail System Alliance Scotland, said: “There will be many strategic benefits from this new HST depot to both Network Rail and ScotRail.

“The new facility will free up space at the existing depots at Edinburgh Haymarket, Glasgow Eastfield and Perth station, providing greater flexibility for freight and passenger services, ultimately improving performance on key intercity routes.”

Syeda Ghufran, ScotRail Engineering Director, said: “Cadder depot is going to be an impressive addition to our maintenance facilities.

“Being able to accommodate some of our HST fleet there overnight will take the pressure off other depots around the country and Cadder, located between Bishopbriggs and Lenzie on the Edinburgh to Glasgow line, is an ideal location for stabling ScotRail HSTs.”

The new office facility will accommodate Rail Systems Alliance Scotland (RSAS) staff, which is a partnership between Network Rail, Babcock and Arcadis. The two-story building located within the yard will be operational both day and night and will also provide accommodation for ScotRail HST Depot staff.

Main contractor, Babcock, is delivering the work alongside sub-contractors Story, CK Contracts, CPMS, Airquick, Structural Fabrications, Forte Engineering, Rail Electrical Services and CPR.

Work at Cadder Yard is being carried out in line with government advice on physical distancing, using additional protective equipment and adapting to new ways of working that will help keep everyone safe while work is ongoing.

For further information, the public can call Network Rail’s 24-hr helpline on 03457 11 41 41 or via our website www.networkrail.co.uk/contactus. Updates and progress on the work will also be available on Twitter: @NetworkRailSCOT.