Media centre

Wednesday 11 Feb 2009

WAVERLEY IMPROVEMENTS TAKE THE NEXT CRUCIAL STEP

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Improvements to the Waverley Steps entrance to Edinburgh Waverley from Princes Street moved closer to fruition today when Network Rail submitted its application for approval by Scottish Ministers.

The application for a Transport and Works Order to undertake the works includes proposals to create a new covered step and escalator access between Princes Street and the north entrance to Waverley station and a lift access from the station to the roof of Princes Mall.

The scheme gained strong support from the public during public exhibitions of the plans in October 2008. Thousands of visitors viewed the plans, with almost 800 completing a consultation survey. 93% of respondents indicated their support for the overall design. In addition, Network Rail consulted with local representatives, neighbours, conservation bodies and other special interest groups to create the final design.

Ron McAulay, Network Rail Director, Scotland said:

“We view this project as vital to helping bring Waverley into line with modern accessibility requirements. The existing steps are impossible to access if you are using a wheelchair, and near impossible with a pram or with a lot of baggage. With around 37% of Waverley’s 24 million annual passengers making use of this entrance, it’s easy to see why we need to make better use of this access point.

“The submission of this application is a major milestone for this project following an extended period in development. We have now reached agreement with our neighbours about the final design of the scheme and, provided our application meets the approval of Scottish ministers, we hope to see work begin within the next twelve months.”

Mr McAulay also highlighted the positive impact of the public consultation on the project. He added:

“The consultation process has been extremely productive in advance of our application. While the vast majority of comments were positive, some consultees raised concerns about the initial design for the Princes Street entrance. We have taken those comments on board and the new look design is much more in keeping with the architecture of the neighbouring Balmoral Hotel.”

The Waverley Steps application is the first of its kind under the new Transport and Works (Scotland) Act 2007 (TAWS). The application will be considered by Scottish Ministers later this year. Providing approval is granted, work is expected to start on redeveloping the steps by the end of 2009.

ENDS