Media centre

Tuesday 29 Mar 2011

PAISLEY CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENTS: NETWORK RAIL INVITES GALLOWHILL TO DROP-IN

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

• Community invited to meet project team between 4pm and 8pm on Monday 4 April 2011

• Project will increase capacity and flexibility on one of country’s busiest routes

Network Rail is inviting the community of Gallowhill to drop-in and meet the project team delivering the £170m enhancement of the railway linking Glasgow to the Clyde coast and Ayrshire.

The Paisley Corridor Improvements (PCI) project will upgrade the track and signaling on the busy rail corridor between Shields junction in Glasgow and Paisley Gilmour St station and as work progresses, the community has been invited to drop-in and meet the project team and get answers to any questions they may have about the project or the works.

Once complete, the project will improve capacity on the route and allow for increased levels of service between Glasgow and Ayrshire, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde.

An important route for commuters and freight traffic, the Paisley corridor will be three-tracked and have a new signaling system installed over the next 12 months. The final stretch of the line from Arkleston to Gilmour St will be upgraded to four tracks for even greater flexibility.

The works are being funded by Transport Scotland and Network Rail and previous phases of the project have already delivered two new platforms at Glasgow Central station and a new freight loop at Elderslie.

Matthew Spence, Network Rail, PCI Project Manager, said: “We are committed to engaging with our line-side neighbours and to being open about the project and responsive to any questions. We want to invite our line-side neighbours to come along to Gallowhill Community Centre and find out more about what we are doing, how we are doing it and why, and what benefits it will bring to the rail network.

“This package of enhancements will improve the railway’s capacity and reliability and have real benefits for businesses and individual passengers alike.”

The PCI project is one of several major projects aimed at improving capacity, reliability and journey times currently underway or recently completed in the central belt demonstrating Network Rail’s commitment to investing in Scotland’s railways and encouraging more people to travel by train.

Network Rail and the Scottish Government are also working together to deliver the Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) and have recently completed the new Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link project.

Local residents are invited to drop-in and meet the PCI Project team at Gallowhill Community Centre, (Netherhill Road, Gallowhill, Paisley PA3 4SF) any time between 4pm and 8pm on Monday 4 April 2011. Representatives from Network Rail’s project team and contractors will be available to respond to questions about the project and the work being carried out in the area.