News

Scottish Government announce Haymarket improvements as transport priority

9/1/09

The Scottish Government announced its Strategic Transport Projects Review on 10 December 2008, outlining transport priorities from 2012 onwards. The Review recommends an investment of £50 – £100million to upgrade Edinburgh Haymarket “to significantly improve the public transport interchange in Edinburgh, improving links to the airport and enhancing rail capacity.”

The Review follows the study developed by the City of Edinburgh Council for this western gateway to the city, which needs to be able to accommodate an expected increase of 50% in passengers through the train station over the next 15 years.

The Council's proposal recommended £76.9m of public sector investment, which is consistent with the funding identified by the government.

The Review indicates that improvements would take place from 2012 onwards, once Edinburgh’s trams and other components are in place. This timescale reflects that identified in the Council's own study.

Other significant transport projects within the Review underline the need to increase capacity at Haymarket and to deliver a western gateway to Edinburgh's city centre, including:

• Improved rail links between Edinburgh to Glasgow, increasing frequency of services.
• East of Scotland rail improvements will increase capacity across the region.

The Scottish Government's Review provides fresh, encouraging and positive momentum to this important project. Further details are expected throughout 2009.

City of Edinburgh Council's Transport Convenor Phil Wheeler welcomed the Government's commitments and said: “We are therefore delighted with [these] announcements and look forward to…delivering these ambitious and most welcome projects…The upgrading of the busy Haymarket interchange…[fits] neatly and strategically into our long-term objectives of providing a broad, fully integrated and intelligent range of transport options for Edinburgh.”

For further details on the Strategic Transport Projects Review please visit:
www.transportscotland.gov.uk/stpr.