Media centre

Monday 30 Jul 2018

Waverley escalators are a step up for customers

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Edinburgh Waverley’s concourse escalators will soon be in operation for customers after being lifted into position at the weekend.

The two escalators, which will restore the link to the footbridge above platform 11, were manoeuvred back into position in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Engineers will now work to commission the systems required to operate the escalators before they re-enter service in mid-August. When complete, the hoardings will be removed from platform 12 – opening up more circulation space on the concourse for passengers.

Elsewhere in the station, engineers are continuing to extend platforms five and six. The escalators originally closed last year to allow engineers to carry out vital works to extend platform 12 as Waverley prepares for the arrival of new, longer electric train fleets.

The platform enhancements are being delivered as part of the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) and the Department for Transport-funded Intercity Express Programme (IEP) which will improve service on the East Coast Main line.

The station works, and new trains, will help to transform travel on both routes increasing passenger capacity and reducing journey times – by around 10 minutes between Edinburgh and Glasgow and by around 20 minutes between the two capitals.

Mac Kader, Network Rail programme manager, said: “Extending Edinburgh Waverley’s platforms is vital to the introduction of new longer trains to the station –  meaning more seats and shorter journeys for customers.

“We understand the short-term inconvenience the closure of these escalators has caused for some customers and we are pleased to have been able to successfully reinstall the escalators over the weekend.

“Our engineers will now be working as quickly as possible to compete the commissioning and testing of the equipment so we can reopen this important link.”