Expansions for Scotland's rail network proposed

[marks87]

Yeah but it's not that good. The tram is a rip off relative to the bus and slower if going to the city centre.

Nobody mentioned the city centre.

You take the tram to/from Edinburgh Gateway for connections from/to stations north.

 

[najaB]

Yeah but it's not that good. The tram is a rip off relative to the bus and slower if going to the city centre.

And it's not a rip off given that rail fares are available which include the tram journey.

 

[JonasB]

That's what Edinburgh Gateway is. You just have to get the tram there first.

I haven't been to Scotland since Edinburgh Gateway opened, so I have not been able to use it. But I meant a station within walking distance from the terminal, not 3 km away.

 

[route:oxford]

And it's not a rip off given that rail fares are available which include the tram journey.

The big rip-off is that there are no period returns to the airport from most of Central Scotland.

Still, it's a massive benefit to be able to get between Edinburgh Park and the Airport so swiftly. I use it at least once a month, so in the near 3 years it has been open, it has probably saved me around 2 full days of travel time.

 

[gsnedders]

And it's not a rip off given that rail fares are available which include the tram journey.

Though they are a pain to buy with a railcard. (You need to convince a ticket-office to sell you ticket from x to Edinburgh Gateway on the railcard, and then a separate non-railcard ticket from Edinburgh Gateway to Edinburgh Airport…)

 

[najaB]

The big rip-off is that there are no period returns to the airport from most of Central Scotland.

I agree. Apparently you're supposed to be able to buy the airport ad-on at the station or on-train but I've never managed to.

 

[Class83]

And it's not a rip off given that rail fares are available which include the tram journey.

The add on to go from gateway to the airport seems to vary depending on which station you go from. From Inverkeithing it is £1.30, but from most other stations Kirkcaldy/Dundee it is £3.50. Based on a single leaving at midday tomorrow. Now given that they're trying to promote public transport to the airport (to the extent of charging to drop people off) surely not price gouging on the tram connection would be a start.

 

[gsnedders]

I agree. Apparently you're supposed to be able to buy the airport ad-on at the station or on-train but I've never managed to.

BR Fares now shows only via Inverkeithing tickets for Gateway to Airport and similarly only via Inverkeithing and via Haymarket from Edinburgh Park, which it didn't used to; it used to show the hard-to-obtain add-ons. Missing data, or is the add-on gone? The add-on was a practical necessity for those of us wanting to use railcards as through tickets aren't available with railcards (from Glasgow it is cheaper to get railcard single to Edinburgh and then the full-price tram ticket, even without the add-on).

 

[47271]

I'm quite dismayed by the pricing that's going on for Airport to Gateway.

What I didn't mention in my earlier post on the subject is that after I stepped off the four minute £5.50 tram ride, I was one of only three people entering the station via the escalators, walked across a concourse as large as Haymarket's without a soul to be seen, bought my Inverness line ticket from a dead but very pleasant ticket office, and then to the platform. All in the evening peak.

There's a risk that Gateway becomes regarded as a white elephant unless they get a bit keener about selling and promoting the station, and making available attractive through fares.

I wouldn't know about it were it not that I use Edinburgh-Inverness trains a lot and have watched them build it over the past year or so.

 

[ld0595]

I think one problem is the lack of advertising of the new station - most people I mentioned it to didn't have a clue it exists. I too was also disappointed with the pricing - £5.50 is an awful lot for such a short journey and it worked out significantly cheaper to buy and tram and train ticket separately when going up to Dundee.

I've only used it once on a Saturday afternoon and was waiting around for an hour having just missed my train. In that time I think maybe I saw 7 or 8 people at most which I found a bit disappointing, especially considering the size of the place.

 

[FS-2-11]

The tram is a rip off relative to the bus and slower if going to the city centre.

The Airlink timetable shows Airport-Waverley in 21-25 minutes, compared with the tram in 31. But at peak times that will easily extend to 45 minutes or more, given the time it takes the bus to get on to the A8, and that it runs as a local through much of the western suburbs.

When the bus reaches town, it then has to detour via Frederick Street, George Street, Hanover Street, The Mound and Market Street to make sure it's facing the right way on Waverley Bridge. I once got to the top of Lothian Road from the airport in half an hour, thinking another 15 minutes would be plenty of margin to get along Princes Street and catch my EC train at Waverley (it wasn't).

I don't think 21 minutes is ever possible, even in the dead of night.

 

[gsnedders]

I'm quite dismayed by the pricing that's going on for Airport to Gateway.

What I didn't mention in my earlier post on the subject is that after I stepped off the four minute £5.50 tram ride, I was one of only three people entering the station via the escalators, walked across a concourse as large as Haymarket's without a soul to be seen, bought my Inverness line ticket from a dead but very pleasant ticket office, and then to the platform. All in the evening peak.

There's a risk that Gateway becomes regarded as a white elephant unless they get a bit keener about selling and promoting the station, and making available attractive through fares.

I wouldn't know about it were it not that I use Edinburgh-Inverness trains a lot and have watched them build it over the past year or so.

I wonder what percentage of people from outside of Edinburgh go to the airport by public transport at all?

 

[najaB]

I wonder what percentage of people from outside of Edinburgh go to the airport by public transport at all?

I know it's not a percentage but the buses always seem busy. Both the 100 and Megabus/Stagecoach/etc. from further afield.

 

[route:oxford]

I agree. Apparently you're supposed to be able to buy the airport ad-on at the station or on-train but I've never managed to.

You can definitely buy it at Edinburgh Park...

The Bridge-of-Allan to Edinburgh Airport ticket isn't available at the BofA TVM, nor has any on-board staff been able to sell me the ticket (or gateline staff at Stirling) - they always advise me to buy it when I disembark at EDP.

 

[clc]

My preference is still for an extended cross city tunnel from Arkleston to Cowlairs with stops at Southern, Govan, Hydro, Central and Cathedral

Bit more expensive than a Shields Road tunnel but much more transformative.

Was thinking about this again recently. Would you really need 2 stations in Govan? The hospital would be justified as its a major employment site, but I think you could drop the subway interchange saving £500 million thereby increasing it's chances of happening. You'd still have Subway interchange in the city centre after all. Obviously it would take passengers from Ayrshire longer to reach the West End but otoh the vast majority of passengers would benefit from one less stop enroute to the city centre.

 

[najaB]

Dalcross station is definitely a go.

News rail station for Inverness Station finally on track

A long-awaited new rail station at Inverness Airport, to herald multi-million pound investment in an area of the Highlands earmarked for crucial development, has finally been given the green light.

But the £5m project was almost derailed at Highland Council’s planning committee by concerns over the associated closure of a local level crossing. Only assurances that a separate order would have to be framed, which would require objectors’ views to be heard in a public inquiry or official hearing, persuaded councillors to approve the application.

The 568ft platform is expected to be built by December with the station open to passengers before the end of next year.

 

[dcsprior]

Dalcross station is definitely a go.

News rail station for Inverness Station finally on track

That one did seem like a no-brainer:
* on an existing line
* allows creation of a rail park-and-ride
* serves an airport
* doesn't need any private property to be demolished
* in an area where the most recent (albeit far smaller scale) station opening exceeded expectations

Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

 

[NotATrainspott]

That one did seem like a no-brainer:
* on an existing line
* allows creation of a rail park-and-ride
* serves an airport
* doesn't need any private property to be demolished
* in an area where the most recent (albeit far smaller scale) station opening exceeded expectations

Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

It's also the station for the new Tornagrain development, which will effectively create a new town over the next several decades.

 

[och aye]

A couple of news articles:

Bid for Fife rail expansion goes to parliament

http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/transport/bid-for-fife-rail-expansion-goes-to-parliament-1-4391017

Campaigners for the reintroduction of rail links in Fife have taken their case to Holyrood. The St Andrews Rail Link group (StARLink), represented by convener Jane Ann Liston and secretary Dita Stanis-Traken, made their case to local north east Fife MSP Willie Rennie, along with Dean Lockhart and Mark Ruskell, Mid Scotland & Fife MSPs. Afterwards a StARLink spokesperson commented: “Today marks a great step forward in the campaign to reconnect St Andrews to the rail network. “The MSPs all showed a desire to push the campaign forward and described the case for a St Andrews railway as ‘compelling’. “We have every confidence that the procedure will now gather momentum, having already been included in the Tay Cities Deal.”

Upgrade of Inverness Station on track for completion next year

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/f...ss-station-on-track-for-completion-next-year/

The ScotRail Alliance has appointed a design team to the £6million project – with construction tenders to be let in the autumn.

The work will focus on creating a “more dominant” frontage onto Academy Street and improving shopping options available on the station concourse.

The entrances and links with the bus station and Falcon Square will also be upgraded.

 

[och aye]

Councillors welcome protections for north-east rail infrastructure

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/f...otections-for-north-east-rail-infrastructure/

The site of the former Buchan line station in Ellon was granted protected status in 2012 as part of the local council’s local development plan.

Now the Scottish Government reporter has expanded the protection to ensure that the railway can be resurrected in the future if plans are brought forward.

The land is no longer available for private development.

An interesting piece at the end of the article:

The move comes after national transport campaign group Transform Scotland called on the government to ensure disused rail infrastructure is not dismantled.

Research has shown around 40% of the £294million investment in successfully reopening the Borders Railway was the consequence of failing to keep former infrastructure.

Instead the government was forced to buy back land and rebuild bridges.

 

[Clansman]

Lot's of bold headlines popping up recently.

Very exciting news to read and it highlights how progressive Scotland have been in terms of our railway infrastructure in the past few years - and long may it continue

Our rail network will look completely different come 2020, that's for sure.

 

[JonasB]

A couple of news articles:

Bid for Fife rail expansion goes to parliament

http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/transport/bid-for-fife-rail-expansion-goes-to-parliament-1-4391017

Good news! Are there any plans or proposals on how a new rail link to St. Andrews would look like? The former line between Leuchars and St. Andrews seems to be still in place without obstacles, apart from a few houses in Guardbridge.

 

[gsnedders]

Good news! Are there any plans or proposals on how a new rail link to St. Andrews would look like? The former line between Leuchars and St. Andrews seems to be still in place without obstacles, apart from a few houses in Guardbridge.

And the Old Course hotel, and the Eden and Strathtyrum golf courses… That land wouldn't come anything near cheap. Also location of the station in St Andrews; reinstating that would cause large problems with car-parking.

Also the need to reverse at Leuchars to go to Edinburgh.

I'd expect it to largely follow a new alignment, and meet with a triangular junction to allow direct access to Edinburgh. See, e.g., the Tata route proposal.

 

[och aye]

The ScotRail Alliance has submitted a business case to Transport Scotland for a planned redevelopment of Motherwell station.

http://www.motherwelltimes.co.uk/news/transport/redevelopment-plan-for-station-1-4411303

Artists impression.

The ScotRail Alliance has submitted a business case to Transport Scotland for a planned redevelopment of Motherwell station. The business case has been developed in partnership with North Lanarkshire Council, listing key aspects of the redevelopment including:

○Additional facilities for customers and staff and enhanced station presence in the town centre; ○A new road configuration and traffic plan around the station to improve transport interchange;

○Improved pedestrian routes across the station area;

○Additional park and ride facilities at a number of locations near the station;

○Enhanced public realm areas to improve links to the town centre.

 

[me123]

Would be welcomed. Motherwell isn't an inviting station all in all.

 

[marks87]

Would be welcomed. Motherwell isn't an inviting station all in all.

Fixed that for you

 

[Starmill]

Returning breifly to the Edinbrugh Gateway discussion, there are now a whole load of fares routed 'JET747 EDI BUS' and some routed 'TRANSPORT FR EDI'. The former seem to cost loads. There's no fare from Edinburgh Gateway to the Airport except for that 747 one.

 

[Clansman]

Fixed that for you

Beat me to it

 

[najaB]

The former seem to cost loads.

Which is a reversal of the previous situation - the route Haymarket tickets (valid on the 100 and tram) were more expensive than the Route Inverkeithing (valid on the 747).

There's no fare from Edinburgh Gateway to the Airport except for that 747 one.

That one is curious since, unless the route has been changed, the 747 doesn't go anywhere near Edinburgh Gateway!

 

[InOban]

I have always had the idea that long distance trains from GLA should be diverted via Holytown and wishaw, with a new Glasgow parkway station where the A723 crosses near Carfin. It must be much easier to get to Glasgow airport via the M8 and M74 than it is to access a train south, particularly since so many trains omit the Motherwell stop.