NETWORK RAIL INVESTS £6.25 MILLION IN EAST COAST MAIN LINE

Tuesday 12 Sep 2006

NETWORK RAIL INVESTS £6.25 MILLION IN EAST COAST MAIN LINE

Region & Route:: Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Passengers are set to benefit from more reliable journeys thanks to a £6.25 million investment in the East Coast Main Line, which serves passengers travelling between Edinburgh and London. Network Rail is spending the money to renew more than 13,000 yards of track in ten locations, all within Scotland. The work, which begins on Saturday 16 September, will include replacing the rail, ballast and sleepers to ensure the future reliability of the line and reduce the need for future maintenance. David Simpson, Route Director, said: “This investment demonstrates Network Rail’s commitment to delivering a world class railway in Scotland; it will bring major benefits to passengers travelling on the East Coast Main Line, with smoother journeys and more reliable services. "We have been planning this work for more than a year and worked closely with the train operators to ensure disruption to passengers is kept to a minimum. Our experienced team will be working around the clock until the job is done." The ten locations to be renewed are Prestonpans, Drem, Portobello, Reston, Cockburnspath, Monktonhall, Mungoswells, Musselburgh, Prora and Edinburgh. Works will commence at Prestonpans and Drem on Saturday 16 September and finish in Edinburgh and Prora early in the morning on Monday 6 November, when normal services will resume.

Notes to editors

1. Full dates of renewal works and locations follow. NB In each case works are set to be completed in time for peak morning services on the Monday. Prestonpans 16 September to 18 September Drem 16 September to 18 September and 23 September to 25 September Reston 23 September to 25 September Cockburnspath 30 September to 2 October Mungoswells 7 October to 9 October and 14 October to 16 October Musselburgh 21 October to 23 October Calton North Tunnel 28 October to 30 October and 4 November to 6 November Prora 28 October to 30 October and 4 November to 6 November 2. The following train replacement services have been arranged by First Scotrail. Edinburgh / North Berwick All services between North Berwick and Edinburgh, and between Newcraighall and North Berwick, will operate as a replacement bus service stopping at all stations. A shuttle bus service will also be in operation between Newcraighall and Musselburgh. Glasgow Central / North Berwick The 07:05 and 15:19 Glasgow to North Berwick services will terminate at Edinburgh. The 08:18 and 15:19 North Berwick to Glasgow services will start from Edinburgh at advertised times. Saturday 23 September and Saturday 4 November Bathgate / Dunblane / Newcraighall services will start and terminate at Edinburgh. A replacement bus will operate between Edinburgh and Newcraighall calling at Brunstane. Friday 27 October The 23:03 Bathgate to Newcraighall will terminate at Edinburgh. The 23:53 Newcraighall to Haymarket will start at Edinburgh at 00:05. A replacement bus will run from Edinburgh to Newcraighall calling at Brunstane. A bus will also operate from Newcraighall at 00:03, calling at Brunstane, Edinburgh and Haymarket. 3. The following information about services has been provided by GNER GNER will operate an hourly service between Edinburgh and Newcastle via Carlisle connecting into services at Newcastle to Yorkshire, East Midlands and London Kings Cross. A replacement coach service will also serve intermediate stations between Edinburgh and Newcastle. Passengers travelling between Glasgow and Edinburgh are advised to use ScotRail services to and from Glasgow Queen Street. GNER will provide a replacement coach service between Edinburgh and Motherwell and will continue to operate trains between Edinburgh and Aberdeen/Inverness during the engineering work. 4. Passengers can contact National Rail Enquiries for the latest information on 08457 48 49 50.

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