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Friday 3 Jun 2016

Minister views progress as engineers reach half-way in £60m tunnel renewal

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Engineers working to renew the railway in Glasgow Queen Street tunnel have completed the first line of track through the kilometre-long structure.

Transport Minister Humza Yousaf visited site today (Friday, June 3), to view progress on the £60m project – which is the biggest piece of engineering work on the Edinburgh-Glasgow railway since it was built in the 1840s.

Since the high level station closed to trains on March 20, over 2,100 engineers have invested more than 150,000 work hours to renew track through the tunnel and to lengthen and rebuild platforms and track layouts within the station.

With the 20-week scheme progressing to plan, the project team has now completed the first line of new slab-track and remains on course to reopen the high level station on August 8.

Work has now begun on laying the second line of new slab-track through the tunnel.

Over the last 10 weeks Network Rail engineers, who are renewing the tunnel for the ScotRail Alliance, have removed over 5,000 tonnes of concrete and rock, created a new 945m concrete base and installed 820m of new slab-track units and 2000m of new rail.

Transport Minister, Humza Yousaf, said: “Delivering any major infrastructure programme in a live rail environment is a challenging undertaking and the Queen Street tunnel is certainly no exception.

“This is a massive logistical operation by Network Rail that has seen over 150,000 hours worked to date and I am pleased to see it reach the halfway point on schedule.

“Whilst acknowledging the ongoing success of ScotRail’s communications and service alterations, which are keeping the public informed and keeping them moving, I would also like to thank rail passengers who are affected by these works for their ongoing patience and understanding.

“This work is literally paving the way for Scotland’s new fleet of electric trains, which will begin to be introduced in to service next year.”

David Dickson, ScotRail Alliance infrastructure director, added: “We have now passed the half-way point in this vital project and our engineers have completed a huge amount of work as they stay on course to reopen the tunnel for passengers on August 8.

“The renewal of the tunnel track, and the installation of overhead power equipment, will allow the introduction of faster, longer and greener trains on the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line – delivering thousands of extra seats, shorter journey times and improved accessibility for customers.

“Although, this is a massive engineering challenge it has been meticulously planned and we’d like to thank customers for their support and understanding while we deliver this investment in Scotland’s railway.”

The tunnel renewal is being delivered by engineers working on the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) to electrify the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line.

Through EGIP, 70 Hitachi Class 385 electric trains will be rolled out on a number of routes by December 2018. These will allow ScotRail to run trains of up to eight carriages on the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line once the new Glasgow Queen Street station is complete.

The Scottish Government’s investment in the redeveloped Glasgow Queen Street station, which is due to be completed in 2019, will see the station transformed into a modern facility with increased concourse space, improved accessibility and remodelled passenger facilities.