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Thursday 19 Dec 2013

New £25m Haymarket station opens for passengers

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Transport Minister Keith Brown officially opened Haymarket station’s new main building and concourse today (Thursday, December 19) as the £25m redevelopment of the facility nears completion.

Delivered on time and to budget by Network Rail, the new-look station is now one of the most modern and easily accessible on Britain’s rail network.

The new station building provides a public space 10 times larger than before and has enhanced retail facilities for passengers. The new main entrance also provides direct access to the tram line along Haymarket Terrace.

The steel and glass building also links to all platforms via a new, wider footbridge with lifts and escalators creating step-free access throughout.

Transport Minister Keith Brown said: “The exciting £25million redevelopment of Haymarket Station marks a hugely important milestone in the Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) and I am delighted to be able to unveil the station’s stunning new look to the public.

“Network Rail and ScotRail have worked extremely well together to deliver this transformation of one of our most iconic stations on time and on budget and I look forward to seeing this kind of successful collaborative approach continue throughout EGIP.

“The scheme is making excellent progress and is well on the way to helping provide a more comfortable and efficient railway benefitting not just our two biggest cities, but the whole of Scotland.”

Alex Sharkey, Network Rail area director for Scotland East, added: “Haymarket station is already one of the busiest in Scotland and passenger numbers are set to continue to grow in the years ahead.

“This new building will ensure the railway is able to provide first-class facilities for those passengers and the new, modern station will also complement the wider redevelopment of the city’s west end.”

Steve Montgomery, ScotRail’s managing director, welcomed the redevelopment of Scotland’s fourth busiest station, and said it will encourage even more people to travel by train.

He added: “More than 22 million journeys a year are already made to and from Edinburgh on ScotRail trains. That’s more than a quarter of our overall record breaking passenger numbers. The new Haymarket is a real boost for Edinburgh - and beyond, and I have no doubt the growth will continue.

“It’s all about connecting people and communities, helping to grow the economy, and supporting business and the environment. Haymarket is a now a transport hub and gateway with the facilities and amenities to match.

 

Delivered with minimum disruption to passengers and the 800 services that call there each day, Haymarket has remained open and operational throughout the work, which began in spring 2012.

With the new building and footbridge open to the public, the project to fully refurbish the station will be completed by spring 2014 with the renovation of the original building and the removal of the now redundant footbridge attached to it.

The station has been redeveloped to meet the ever growing demand for rail travel into the capital, with passenger numbers at Haymarket expected to climb from the current 4million a year to 10million by 2030.

The work at Haymarket has been completed as part of the Scottish Government-funded Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP), which is delivering a rolling programme of electrification across the Central Belt – reducing journey times and boosting capacity on routes including the main Edinburgh-Glasgow Queen St line.