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Passenger benefits:
Social benefits:
Economic benefits
Environmental benefits
Network Rail is responsible for delivering this project on behalf of Transport Scotland. This means making sure it is constructed on time and on budget.
Network Rail owns, operates and enhances Britain’s rail network. Network Rail owns around 20,000 miles of track, 40,000 bridges and tunnels, 2,500 stations that we lease to train operators and 17 stations that we run ourselves.
After the Airdrie-Bathgate line was closed to rail in 1982 it became a public footpath and cycle track, known as National Cycle Route 75.
It is a core section of the Clyde to the Forth cycle route, and offers a 15 mile path across central Scotland.
In 2004, Scotland’s devolved government gave the green light for the reopening of the Airdrie-Bathgate rail line as a key transport improvement. The engineering solution which caused the least disruption to local communities was to re-instate the railway where it had once been, on the cycle path.
Network Rail is relocating the cycle path as part of the project in recognition of its importance to cyclists and the local communities it passes through. By the end of 2010 the new cycle path will run alongside the reopened railway line.
For the last twenty five years, the cycle path has been enjoyed and well used by many cyclists and walkers. It was therefore always the intention of the project team to reinstate the cycle path as part of The Airdrie-Bathgate Railway and Linked Improvements Act.
As the promoter of the Act, Network Rail has made a commitment to reinstate the cycle path as close to the original route as is technically practical. The replacement of the cycle path is integral to the railway scheme and funding is provided for the new route as part of the Act.
The new cycle path has been developed in consultation with SUSTRANS, Railway Paths Ltd and the land access officers of North Lanarkshire Council and West Lothian Council.
Further to submissions of the Act, we set up a Cycle Path Forum which includes representatives from the above mentioned bodies, plus CTC - the UK’s National Cyclist Organisation, Spokes and North Lanarkshire Access Forum and welcomes attendance from anyone with a particular interest in National Cycle Route 75.
During consultation on the cycle path, many options were put forward and there was discussion about whether the priority was a scenic route or the fastest route.
The promoter (Network Rail) has endeavoured to relocate the cycle path with as little deviation as possible. However, in certain areas this has not been possible due to a variety of issues such as engineering, geology, topography and land ownership.
Our key principles:
The majority of cyclists wanted the National Cycle Route 75 to track its original most direct route, where possible. Therefore, the new cycle path will run alongside the re-opened railway line. There are parts of the route where, for safety or engineering reasons, the path moves away from the railway.
To view the cycle path plans, please click here
The cycle path is currently undergoing survey and design work which will be finalised by Autumn 2008. The construction work is currently scheduled to being at the start of next winter. Network Rail is spending £7.2million in relocating the cycle path.
The whole cycle path will be 16km miles long.
The new cycle path will be operational in the Winter of 2010.
In the interests of safety and in order to ensure no interference occurs between cyclists and construction works, it will not be possible for the whole of the new cycle route to be open prior to the existing route being closed.
To allow for construction of the new railway, it will be necessary to close the existing cycle route between Drumgelloch and Bathgate periodically. Although it will not be possible to maintain a continuous cycle route at all times during the construction period, every effort will be made to minimise impact on cycle access.
The new cycle route will generally be built adjacent to the railway and so construction works on the railway will unavoidably affect the new cycle route.
Yes - Network Rail will shortly be hosting a Cycle Path Forum to discuss the outline design of the cycle path. The Forum is likely to be held at the beginning of 2008 at Buchanan House, Port Dundas Street, Glasgow.
All stakeholders as well as anyone with an interest in National Cycle Route 75 are invited to attend and share their views.
Yes, Network Rail is working in conjunction with the Cycle Forum to plan a cycle path launch event once the path is complete, in 2010. More details will be provided closer to the event.
Keep an eye on YOUR Page for more localised events.
Network Rail began work on the Advance Works for the project in June 2007 – focusing on the existing Bathgate branch line. At the same time, we have also been working on the detailed design of the main works for the project which is expected to be completed by Spring 2008.
Network Rail and its team of contractors will be carrying out the work in three distinct stages, these include:
For more detailed timing of these stages, please see the Project Timetable.
Advanced Works are broadly those elements of the project that can be undertaken on the existing railway without acquiring additional land – in this case, these include the works associated with double tracking the Bathgate branch line and upgrade of stations at Livingston North and Uphall Station.
The double-tracking work itself requires a lot of preparation which we began in June 2007. Throughout 2007 and into 2008 works between Bathgate and Newbridge junction include:
Detailed design is quite simply when we put the ‘detail’ into the maps, plans and sections document originally submitted as part of the Airdrie-Bathgate Railway and Linked Improvements Bill. This mainly covers the new railway between Drumgelloch and Bathgate.
Since May 2007, when the Bill became an Act of Parliament, we have been working on the detailed designs which we expect to have completed by Spring 2008.
As the original plans submitted to the Scottish Parliament and passed by the Act showed the maximum area of land that would be required by the rail link, we have, since May, been refining them to indicate exactly where each bridge will go, how much land is required and the specific location of each station platform etc.
The maps and route plans on this website are a mixture of pre-detailed design and post detailed design. This is because only when the design is complete can we be certain of the precise details of the new railway. Once the final plans are agreed, they will be uploaded to this site.
Yes. To work on the existing line safely, we can only do elements of the work when trains are not running on the line, which we try to do at night to minimise the effect on the passengers using Bathgate-Edinburgh services.
However, at various times, the Bathgate-Edinburgh line will have to be closed completely to allow us to work round the clock. The dates are selected to minimise disruption to rail services as much as possible and they will be advertised in advance. We understand that our work inevitably means some inconvenience and we work closely with West Lothian Council and First ScotRail to make sure that we minimise disruption to local communities as far as possible.
You will find details of line closures on this website on the Information page. We will also be advertising closure at stations and will continue to visit local communities ahead of any work. Again visit the Information page for details of these meetings.
We take the environment very seriously. A key part of the project’s development was to complete a full Environmental Impact Assessment, which included assessment of the impact of the new rail link on local residents and endangered species (such as badgers, newts and bats) for example. It also established how the effect of the railway and its construction could be minimised – an example would be that Network Rail will time its activities to ensure no disturbance of birds during nesting season.
The Code of Construction Practice (available on this site) also details the way Network Rail will seek to minimise the impact of construction on the environment.
The original proposal to reopen the rail link did not include plans to build any new stations between Drumgelloch and Bathgate. However, following public consultation in 2004, the proposals were reviewed and amended to include Caldercruix and Armadale.
A detailed study in 2005 showed that introducing these two new stations provided the best compromise between quick journey times and improved accessibility for local communities. The locations of these were confirmed through the engineering work of the Initial Technical Feasibility Study and the business case work of the Design Development Appraisal Report. Both are available to view on our Information page.
The proposed new stations within the Airdrie-Bathgate Railway and Linked Improvements Act are at Caldercruix in North Lanarkshire and Armadale in West Lothian.
It is worth noting that the Scottish Government has also made a commitment to investigate proposals to build a further two new stations along the proposed line at Plains and Blackridge but any proposals will be taken forward separately. However, Network Rail is constructing the new railway so that it would be possible to build new stations at these locations in the future.
They were the two stations which delivered the highest level of additional passengers, the best value for money and which would be easily accessible to the traveling public.
Armadale is one of West Lothian Council's designated Core Development Areas and will see considerable new housing over the next few years, including in the vicinity of the proposed station site. It is the biggest community along the new stretch of the railway and the proposed station will also be accessible from Blackridge and Harthill.
The proposed site for Caldercruix station has the space for the required level of car parking and access from the A89 and the village. It is also accessible on foot from a large part of the existing village and from virtually all of the proposed new housing.
The Design Development Appraisal examined various options to determine which combination of stations best fulfilled a number of criteria including the highest potential passenger numbers, the greatest impact on local and strategic accessibility, the environmental impact of each station, how the stations integrated into the rest of the network and whether they offered value for money.
The detailed analysis that was undertaken indicated that additional stations would create longer journey times, more frequent stopping patterns and a consequent reduction in passenger numbers. These factors indicated that three or four stations would result in a lower benefit to cost ratio (i.e. for every £1 spent, there would be less return on the investment).
The Scottish Government, however, has made a commitment to investigate proposals to build these two new stations which will be taken forward separately by Transport Scotland.
All stations will be equipped with waiting shelters on each platform, ticket machines and help/information communication with the control room via a call point located on each platform.
24 hour CCTV for both stations and car parks will be monitored from regional control rooms. A bridge with ramps and stairs will provide access between platforms and there will also be cycle storage/lock up and park and ride facilities. In addition, Airdrie and Bathgate stations will have staffed ticket offices, WCs open during staffed hours and lift access to each platform.
For more details on individual station facilities, go to The Rail Link page and click on the stations stops on the map.
Car parking provision at each station is envisaged as follows:
Car parking facilities are being increased at all existing stations and provided at the new stations in line with the numbers of passengers forecast to travel on the service. Due to its town centre location, it proved problematic to increase the number of car parking spaces at Airdrie. This was one of the key reasons for the selection of the relocated site at Drumgelloch as it has the land available for a large car park and the ease of access from the A89. In effect, Drumgelloch will act as an overspill car park for Airdrie.
We take the environment very seriously. A key part of the project’s development was to complete a full Environmental Impact Assessment, which included assessment of the impact of the new rail link on local residents and endangered species (such as badgers, newts and bats) for example. It also established how the effect of the railway and its construction could be minimised – an example would be that Network Rail will time its activities to ensure no disturbance of birds during nesting season.
The Code of Construction Practice (available on this site) also details the way Network Rail will seek to minimise the impact of construction on the environment.
The Environmental Statement included a full assessment of the predicted noise levels for the new rail link. The assessment categorised the predicted levels of impact and indicated locations where mitigation may be required to reduce it.
Network Rail has produced a Noise and Vibration Policy (available on the Useful Documents section of the site) which shows the steps that will be taken to reduce the impact of noise and vibration. Broadly, it is a hierarchy of measures, starting with minimising noise at source (i.e. designing the track to reduce the likelihood of noise being created when pass trains over).
It is not expected that people living in areas where there is presently an operational railway will experience any significant change when the new services start running.
Network Rail will be acquiring specific areas of land along the route that are required for the construction and operation of the new rail link. In addition some land will be temporarily used during construction of the project – i.e for temporary work compounds, site access and storage of materials.
All affected parties have been informed about the extent of the land required for the work. Only the land specifically referred to by the Airdrie-Bathgate Railway and Linked Improvements Act can be acquired and Network Rail is committed to minimising the acquisition of private property where possible.
Many residents in Livingston own a share of open land or amenity ground near their homes. This is because when Livingston was developed, many residents were given a right of common ownership of open spaces, paths and parks. Most of this shared land is maintained by the local authority. Some of these open spaces are affected by the railway line work and, as such, all the residents who own a share of open spaces which are affected by the railway line work have received a notice.
Where areas of common land are only required temporarily during the construction work, the land will be reinstated to its original condition in accordance with agreements with West Lothian Council.
Network Rail is regulated by the Office of the Rail Regulator and other bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive. As well as Network Rail’s company standards on safety, this project also has a Code of Construction Practice (available on the information page of this site), which details all elements of Network Rail commitments and obligations during construction of the new railway.
All persons working on or near the railway are fully trained and qualified to do so and are regularly assessed for Personal Track Safety permits (every two years).
You can view a copy of the Airdrie-Bathgate Railway and Linked Improvements Act 2007 on the following link:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2007/20070019.htm
Copies of the original Bill submission, along with the accompanying documents, can be downloaded from our Useful Documents section.
You can also view hard copies of the documents at many council offices and libraries in West Lothian, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow and Edinburgh:
| Edinburgh Central Library | George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EG |
| Blackhall Library | 56 Hillhouse Road, Edinburgh EH4 5EG |
| Wester Hailes Library | 1 West Side Plaza, Edinburgh EH14 2FT |
| Linlithgow Library | The Vennel, Linlithgow EH49 7EX |
| Carmondean Library | Carmondean Centre, Livingston EH54 8PT |
| Airdrie Library | 6 Wellwynd, Airdrie ML6 OAG |
| Ratho Library | 6 School Wynde, Ratho, Newbridge EH28 8TT |
| Corstorphine Library | Kirk Loan, Edinburgh EH12 7HD |
| City of Edinburgh Council | Planning Department, 1 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh EH1 1BJ |
| West Lothian Council | Planning Department, County Buildings, Linlithgow EH49 7EZ |
| North Lanarkshire Council | Planning Department, Fleming House, Tryst Road, Cumbernauld G67 1JW |
| North Lanarkshire Council | Planning Department, Municiple Buildings, Kildonen Street, Coatbridge, ML5 3LN |
| The Mitchell Library | 201 North Street, Glasgow, G3 7DN |
| Bathgate Library | Hopetoun Street, Bathgate, EH48 4PD |
| Armadale Library | West Main Street, Armadale, EH48 3JB |
| Uphall Pumpherston Library (part time) | Pumpherston Primary School, Main Street, Pumpherston, West Lothian |
| Blackridge Library (part-time) | Craig Inn Centre, Blackridge, EH48 3SP |
If your question has not been answered, please write it here and we’ll get back to you.
24 hours a day, seven days a week on 08457 11 41 41.
Funded by Transport Scotland, delivered by Network Rail.