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Tuesday 27 Feb 2024

Network Rail reminds passengers about East Kilbride station works

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Network Rail is reminding passengers that a number of parking spaces at East Kilbride station will be temporarily out of use to allow the safe delivery of construction works.

From 4 March,129 parking spaces at the station will be used to safely house a site compound in operation until work to construct the new station building finishes in June 2025. In addition to welfare and office facilities for staff, the compound provides the necessary space for plant and materials being used to deliver the works.

The 16-month programme started last month and is a key milestone in the East Kilbride enhancement project.

It’s all part of a wider £139.8m investment at the centre of the Scottish Government’s ongoing strategy to decarbonise Scotland’s Railway.

Since activity got underway on the wider enhancement project, works have progressed significantly.

From early January, ground works cleared an area of 20,000m² to install a new access road to the newly created site compound and to allow works to begin on the new the Hairmyres station building and platforms.

Three successful bridge demolitions were delivered over Christmas and New Year to generate the required height clearance below two of the bridges for the new overhead electrification equipment. This includes the footbridge next to the existing Hairmyres station, which is due to re-open in early March and the road bridge at Thornton Road.

Laura McWilliams, Network Rail senior programme manager for East Kilbride station works, said: “Since boots hit the ground towards the end of last year, we’ve made great progress on the East Kilbride enhancement project.

“We appreciate that in delivering this vital engineering work to electrify the East Kilbride to Glasgow line, we rely on the patience of the communities along the railway corridor and are grateful for this.

“We know that using part of the East Kilbride station car park, although temporary, will be an inconvenience to commuters and we thank them for their understanding.

“As the works at the station progress, we will continuously monitor our programme to see if there is any possibility that we can hand back spaces when safe to do so and in advance of June 2025.”

When complete, the new building, located within the existing station footprint between Torrance Road and West Mains Road, will be more modern and accessible, with improved passenger facilities, a new booking office, a waiting area and a small retail unit.

Part of the station works include extending the existing platform by 51m to accommodate longer trains.

Electric services will be introduced on the East Kilbride line following completion of the project in December 2025 and will offer enhanced train performance and service flexibility on the route.

To find our more on the East Kilbride enhancement project email EKEnhancements@networkrail.co.uk or call the Network Rail helpline on 03457 11 41 41. For the latest information and updates as the project progresses, follow on X (Twitter) @NetworkRailScot or visit www.scotlandsrailway.com