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Friday 11 Dec 2009

SCOTTISH RAIL SERVICES SET FOR DISRUPTION-FREE CHRISTMAS

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

• Normal holiday services will be running on all routes while Network Rail engineers create new platforms at Glasgow Central

Rail services within Scotland will run as timetabled this Christmas as Network Rail engineering works which impact upon train services have been cut-back and re-arranged to reduce disruption.

ScotRail’s customers will, for the first time in several years, be able to enjoy uninterrupted services on routes across the country.

Network Rail will still use the Christmas period to deliver significant enhancements to the railway without affecting services - including those into and out of Glasgow Central where works continue to create two new platforms.

Between December 25 and December 28, work will be carried out to permanently close the current platform 12, removing track and overhead power lines from the platform. Work will also continue to create a new entrance for trains into the station through the main arch and to build two new platforms on the site of the former car park.

Part of a £180m investment in rail routes into Central, the platforms will provide additional space at Scotland’s busiest station and enable the introduction of new, longer trains on the Ayrshire and Inverclyde routes in 2010.

The reduction in engineering work is part of a Britain-wide initiative to limit disruption on the railway at this key time of year.

Robin Gisby, Network Rail’s director of operations and customer service, said: “We're doing a lot of work this year to make Britain's railway better but the overall effect on the passenger is markedly less.

“Passengers across the country will see a more trains, less buses, and a better service this Christmas holiday period as our vital improvement work starts to use new techniques and equipment that lessens the impact on train services. This will be the model for the years ahead as we invest heavily to build a bigger, better railway.”

Steve Montgomery, ScotRail’s managing director, said: “We are delighted that it is very much business as usual over the holiday season.

“It is particularly pleasing that our services into and out of Glasgow Central will be normal following several years of disruption caused by major improvement works over the festive period.”

Network Rail engineers will be working around the clock over the Christmas period to deliver more than £100m-worth of rail improvement projects aimed at delivering a better railway across Britain.

There will also be little disruption within Scotland at New Year other than the need to divert a small number of evening, Edinburgh-Inverness / Dundee services via Stirling on December 31 due to a track renewals project at North Queensferry.

All of these works will result in more reliable, faster and potentially more frequent train services and will build on the current record levels of punctuality and customer satisfaction – more than nine out of ten trains arrive on time and four out of five passengers are satisfied with the service that they receive.