Expansions for Scotland's rail network proposed

[DuncanS]

Record has the same, https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/old-rangers-train-station-reopen-12400639

As clc points out some naive quote

 

[The_Engineer]

A local councillor proposing the reopening of Ibrox station:

“It’s very easy to do. It wouldn’t take long. The tracks are there, it’s just a matter of the train stopping. How easy is that?

“I’m hoping that this will happen within the next year.”

Ah, bless!

Indeed! Can someone email him the details of the Kenilworth fiasco?

 

[Steamysandy]

STV has a piece on tonights news that locals are under the impression that nothings going to happen anytime soon on the Levenmouth line

 

[najaB]

STV has a piece on tonights news that locals are under the impression that nothings going to happen anytime soon on the Levenmouth line

That very much depends on the definition of 'soon', doesn't it?

 

[Steamysandy]

Further to what I wrote yesterday,it appears there has been a recent meeting at which Transport Scotland have said it is still under consideration and that a new look at the figures has revealed an under estimate of benefits and a possible over estimate of costs suggesting it could be cheaper to re open than the Border line was.
A half hourly service to Waverley taking an hour has been suggested.(Dundee Courier)

 

[najaB]

...suggesting it could be cheaper to re open than the Border line was.

Cheaper per mile or cheaper overall? I'd be shocked if reopening 57km of a line that closed 40 years previous was cheaper than bringing 8km of a nominally open but out of use line back into use.

 

[Steamysandy]

Per mile.The article is referred to on BBC Scotland Edinburgh and South East news page

 

[fegguk]

An important consideration is not just building the tracks to Levemouth etc but what other infrastructure capacity will be required for trains to form part of a service from there to Edinburgh. Creating more capacity for these trains might be expensive unless other services can be modified without reducing existing services. Extending the Borders railway southward will probably just mean the existing trains going further south no changes or extra capacity being required elsewhere on the network.

 

[Scotrail88]

With the works at Rutherglen bein extended to Glasgow Central this week, what else is getting done on the argyle line requiring such a curtailment.

 

[Trackbedjolly]

Per mile.The article is referred to on BBC Scotland Edinburgh and South East news page

It should cost less per mile to re-open most lines as they would not have the expense of temporarily diverting a major road (Edinburgh City Bypass), building a deviation for the railway, undertaking mineworking consolidation etc. Seems like somebody assumed that costs associated with the Borders Railway was to be the new standard rate for the job!

Meantime there is more encouragement to be read here:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/new...st-case-for-reinstating-levenmouth-rail-link/

 

[JohnR]

It should cost less per mile to re-open most lines as they would not have the expense of temporarily diverting a major road (Edinburgh City Bypass), building a deviation for the railway, undertaking mineworking consolidation etc. Seems like somebody assumed that costs associated with the Borders Railway was to be the new standard rate for the job!

Meantime there is more encouragement to be read here:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/new...st-case-for-reinstating-levenmouth-rail-link/

Agreed, but I think the cost of Borders can be used as a good "ballpark" figure, on the basis the outturn is likely to be less.

 

[Trackbedjolly]

Agreed, but I think the cost of Borders can be used as a good "ballpark" figure, on the basis the outturn is likely to be less.

Cost per mile would be a good ballpark figure IF one could remove the extra costs associated with those elements I mentioned but I haven't see any.

 

[swt_passenger]

I was looking for something else and noticed that Network Rail have announced planning permission has been granted for the down main platform at Dunbar, start on site next year:

Network Rail’s proposals for step-free access to a new second platform at Dunbar Station have been approved by East Lothian Council.

The local authority has given the plans for new lifts and a footbridge at the station the go ahead.

Listed building consent has also been granted to demolish the old goods shed attached to the main building.

The new platform will provide increased capacity and improve operational flexibility at Dunbar.

Network Rail will appoint a main contractor later this year to develop the scheme in more detail, with a view to starting work on-site in 2019.
https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/new-second-platform-at-dunbar-moves-a-step-closer

 

[najaB]

I was looking for something else and noticed that Network Rail have announced planning permission has been granted for the down main platform at Dunbar, start on site next year.

Do you/we know which version is actually going to be built?

 

[swt_passenger]

Do you/we know which version is actually going to be built?

No, I didn’t go as far as the local planning site, but what they wanted seems to be fairly well covered on the Network Rail website here: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/our-routes/scotland/dunbar-station-new-platform/

 

[najaB]

No, I didn’t go as far as the local planning site, but what they wanted seems to be fairly well covered on the Network Rail website here: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/our-routes/scotland/dunbar-station-new-platform/

Hmm... it looks like they went with the alternative location but it's hard to tell.

 

[Ginaro]

Assume this is the application?
https://pa.eastlothian.gov.uk/onlin...s.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=P3D7M3GN07V00

 

[och aye]

Glasgow Airport Rail Link - The saga continues...

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/...ent_on_addressing_airport_rail_link_concerns/

Half a million to go on addressing airport rail link fears

PLANS for a Rail Link to Glasgow Airport remain on hold as councillors spend half a million pounds to address concerns with the project.

A report for Transport Scotland last year raised issues with the capacity of the rail network in the west of Scotland to deal with extra trains going from Glasgow Central Station to Paisley Gilmour Street before branching off to a new line and station at the airport.

Last year cash was held back from developing the rail link plans any further until concerns raised have been dealt with.

So far a total of £2million has been spent on the project.

The latest development is the first time any more money will be approved on the programme

For the last three months the Glasgow City Deal Cabinet officials have been meeting with Transport Scotland and the firm who produced the report to discuss how the concerns would be dealt with.

The flagship City Deal project has a budget of £144m and a Final business case was due in 2021.

 

[clc]

GARL - the project that refuses to die! I’ve lost count of how many studies have been commissioned for it. It’s a consultant’s dream come true.

 

[och aye]

Greengauge 21 - Beyond HS2

http://www.greengauge21.net/wp-content/uploads/Beyond_HS2WEB.pdf

• New high speed line from Rutherglen to Carstairs with a 125 mph spur to Shotts line near Breich (currently being examined by TS).

• New 125 mph line from Inverkeithing to Bridge of Earn & Cross Tay link towards Dundee.

• Carstairs - Edinburgh upgraded to 140mph.

• Upgraded Carstairs junction.

• New link between Carstairs - Edinburgh line and Fife line.

• New fast alignment south of Dunbar towards Newcastle.

 

[Altnabreac]

Greengauge 21 - Beyond HS2

http://www.greengauge21.net/wp-content/uploads/Beyond_HS2WEB.pdf

• New high speed line from Rutherglen to Carstairs with a 125 mph spur to Shotts line near Breich (currently being examined by TS).

• New 125 mph line from Inverkeithing to Bridge of Earn & Cross Tay link towards Dundee.

• Carstairs - Edinburgh upgraded to 140mph.

• Upgraded Carstairs junction.

• New link between Carstairs - Edinburgh line and Fife line.

• New fast alignment south of Dunbar towards Newcastle.

That's the first time I've seen anyone other than me advocating the Cross Tay link at Bridge of Earn. I definitely think that it is the way to make a business case work for a new line from Inverkeithing to Perth.

The benefits are just to small for Perth and Inverness journeys only. Once you add in all Central Belt to Dundee and Aberdeen services as well then the benefits will much larger even if the costs are slightly higher too.

I think its sensible to show it as new line rather than new high speed line as well. No need for Fife to Perth to be 250mph. There might just be a business case for it to be at something like 140mph but even as a new straighter 125mph alignment the time savings would be significant.

 

[gsnedders]

I think its sensible to show it as new line rather than new high speed line as well. No need for Fife to Perth to be 250mph. There might just be a business case for it to be at something like 140mph but even as a new straighter 125mph alignment the time savings would be significant.

Really I expect it all depends on the marginal cost of the higher line speed; you undoubtedly have a lot more freedom when building the line from scratch about design speeds. The differences for high speed are mostly in the centenary, and AIUI if you have a constant-height contact wire it's not too difficult even with multiple pantographs, and with no pre-existing structures to consider then it's easier to go for a constant-height contact wire?

 

[backontrack]

That's the first time I've seen anyone other than me advocating the Cross Tay link at Bridge of Earn. I definitely think that it is the way to make a business case work for a new line from Inverkeithing to Perth.

The benefits are just to small for Perth and Inverness journeys only. Once you add in all Central Belt to Dundee and Aberdeen services as well then the benefits will much larger even if the costs are slightly higher too.

I think its sensible to show it as new line rather than new high speed line as well. No need for Fife to Perth to be 250mph. There might just be a business case for it to be at something like 140mph but even as a new straighter 125mph alignment the time savings would be significant.

That all seems sensible to me.

If it's not high-speed, then there's also the possibility of adding on new stations: e.g. Halbeath, Kelty, Kinross, Milnathort, Oudenard (not sure if there are any others).

 

[mcmad]

Thats some fine crayon work there. I'll have a half pint of whatever they've been drinking.

 

[backontrack]

Thats some fine crayon work there. I'll have a half pint of whatever they've been drinking.

I'm not sure that that's quite fair.

 

[mcmad]

I'm not sure that that's quite fair.

A High speed Rutherglen - Carstairs line, its 25 miles currently, average speed probably around 75mph so say 20 minutes? A high speed line is going to save what, around 6 minutes? At a cost of £400m/mile that'd be around £10bn or £1.6bn per minute saved!

The only one of those proposal even remotely likely would be the Edinburgh Perth and that's only Hilton to Ladybank can't be upgraded to a decent speed for a reasonable cost.

 

[InOban]

A two-track line is doing double duty as an InterCity route and a suburban commuter railway. A recipe for timetabling constraints and unreliability.

 

[mcmad]

The money would be much better spent upgrading the whole of the the WCML in Scotland to avoid the HS2 trains being slower than the current service due to the time lost not being able to run at EPS once of the new HS line. Scotland never really got much out of the whole WCRM fiasco, so the west coast is long overdue some serious works

 

[najaB]

At a cost of £400m/mile that'd be around £10bn or £1.6bn per minute saved!

Where does £400M/mile come from?

 

[Altnabreac]

A High speed Rutherglen - Carstairs line, its 25 miles currently, average speed probably around 75mph so say 20 minutes? A high speed line is going to save what, around 6 minutes? At a cost of £400m/mile that'd be around £10bn or £1.6bn per minute saved!

The only one of those proposal even remotely likely would be the Edinburgh Perth and that's only Hilton to Ladybank can't be upgraded to a decent speed for a reasonable cost.

Carstairs to Glasgow Central currently takes around 27 minutes and involves crossing best part of 15 flat junctions on a two track suburban railway.

A Rutherglen to Carstairs line is a no brainer as the number one priority for High Speed Rail north of Wigan or Leeds.

Should be at least a 15 minute saving if not more.