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Thursday 29 Oct 2015

New cycle lane opens for Edinburgh Waverley passengers

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Bike to train connections in Edinburgh will become simpler from today (Thursday, October 29) as Waverley station opens a new bike lane into the heart of the concourse.

The new cycle lane – which includes gated barriers at the foot of the ramp, road markings and new signage – has been opened on the station’s north ramp, with direct access to and from Waverley Bridge.

Phil Verster, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance, said: “Cycling access into Waverley is an issue which has been raised time and again by our stakeholders in recent years. We have listened and we have taken action.

“This is the first of a range of improvements that we intend to make to cycling facilities at Waverley. Plans are underway to introduce a ScotRail CyclePoint hub by 2018 and we will be sharing more details of those plans with our passengers soon.

“Servicing the station while balancing the various needs of our passengers is a significant challenge but we are putting our passenger needs first. The north ramp continues to be required for deliveries, so this will be a mixed use facility and we’d urge all cyclists to exercise caution.”

Derek Mackay, Minister for Transport and Islands, added: “Provision of cycle access into Edinburgh Waverley is an issue that station users feel strongly about. I am therefore pleased to see it resolved and can assure the public that we will be looking at further options to increase station accessibility in the future.

“Cycling facilities at stations are vital in allowing more people the opportunity to start and complete their rail journeys by bike. I am pleased that the reopening of cycle access goes hand in hand with several existing and forthcoming ScotRail initiatives to improve cycling facilities on the rail network.

“More widely, the Scottish Government is committed to increasing connectivity on public transport and promoting greener, healthier travel options. That is why we are investing a record amount of almost £40 million in 2015/16 in active travel, which will meet the growing demand for walking and cycling facilities across Scotland.”

The ramp will continue to be used for deliveries in the short to medium term, however, solutions are being sought to find a long term alternative to bringing deliveries into the station via the ramps.

Waverley Station is currently Scotland’s best served railway station for bike storage, with over 220 cycle spaces at the various compass points within the station. The cycle racks are all under cover, monitored by CCTV and regularly inspected. Waverley has also pioneered an innovative partnership with bike mechanics, Grease Monkeys, who hold fortnightly ‘bike love’ workshops in the station.

As part of its ScotRail franchise commitments, Abellio is committed to rolling out a Cycle Innovation Plan across the Scottish Rail network. The plan will see ScotRail introduce at least 3,500 new cycle spaces to stations across Scotland. This will include bike hire, storage and maintenance facilities in all of Scotland’s major cities.