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Tuesday 14 Apr 2009

STATION RENEWALS TO SHED NEW LIGHT ON WAVERLEY

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

A £130m plan to overhaul Edinburgh’s Waverley station was submitted to the city council’s planning department today (Tuesday, 14 April), with the renewal of the station’s renowned 34,000m2 Victorian glazed roof at the centre of the project.

The four-year scheme to improve the passenger facilities at the station comes just a year after the completion of multi-million pound rail capacity improvements. The renewal project will run in conjunction with the planned redevelopment of the Waverley Steps station entrance from Princes Street.

The roof renewal will see clear, strengthened glass installed to replace the cloudy, wire safety glass currently preventing natural light from reaching the station concourse and platforms. The project will also provide an improved cleaning and maintenance system for the roof. The result will be less reliance on artificial lighting and a cleaner, brighter station environment. The roof will also be designed to capture rain water for potential use in a future ‘grey water’ recycling scheme.

Other proposed station enhancements include a new Market Street entrance, improvements to Platforms 8 and 9, refurbishment of the station concourse and main building exterior and repairs to the Calton Road entrance. In addition, the station’s original ironwork features will be repaired and repainted while non-essential station furniture, buildings and redundant high level walkways will be removed permanently.

Ron McAulay, Network Rail’s director, Scotland, commented:

“These plans strike the right balance between preserving Waverley’s rich heritage and creating a station environment which meets the needs of passengers in the 21st Century.

“The station enhancements will require a large amount of construction work to take place in the station during normal working hours, however, from past experience we’re confident that we can carry out the work without major disruption to passengers.

“We have consulted with heritage groups and other interested parties while drawing up these plans and I look forward to seeing them come to fruition following consideration from the council’s planning department.”

Robert Samson, Passenger Link Manager, Passenger Focus said:

"These proposals will provide a welcome improvement to the passenger experience at Waverley Station. Step free access at both the north and south of the station will be a welcome relief for anyone with heavy luggage, pushing a pram or using a wheelchair. We're also pleased to see that the plans will modernise the station without losing its unique character - something which both regular passengers and visitors to Edinburgh genuinely value."

ENDS