NEW PLANS FOR CALDERCRUIX STATION
Friday January 09, 2009
Network Rail has today announced its intention to apply for planning permission to relocate the proposed Caldercruix station on the new £300m Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link.
The suggested change will see the station move from the currently proposed site, 600 metres to the west of the town, to the site of the former Caldercruix station, which closed in 1956.
The new location, in the centre of Caldercruix, will bring significant benefits for travellers, with the number of people living within 800 metres of the station increasing by almost 40%. The relocation will also improve access to existing bus routes.
The relocation has been proposed after extensive ground investigations around the former Caldercruix paper mill bordering the original station site revealed significant environmental and technical issues with plans to drain three of the five pulp lagoons. Drainage of the lagoons would have been required to allow for the creation of an access road and parking at the planned station.
Network Rail will require planning permission from North Lanarkshire Council to construct the station on the alternative site and will submit its application to the Council next Friday (January 16). The company has already secured land for the station and station car park and the change will have no impact on the Transport Scotland-funded project’s planned 2010 completion date.
Ron McAulay, Network Rail Director Scotland, said: “This re-location proposal, if granted, will bring the station closer to the heart of Caldercruix, improving access for local people and complementing existing transport facilities. This is the best solution for both the local community and rail link as in-depth investigations at the original site have shown that it presents significant environmental and engineering issues for the project.”
Local MSP, Karen Whitefield, commented:
"Moving the station closer to the heart of Caldercruix makes perfect sense so I welcome the move to locate the new station at the site of the former Caldercruix rail station. This not only improves access for the people of Caldercruix, it also protects a wildlife site of importance. It is vital now that Network Rail liaises closely with the community of Caldercruix to explain what this move will entail."
A public meeting about the relocation of the station will be held at Glengowan / St Mary’s Primary School, Drumfin Avenue on Tuesday 13 January at 6.30pm
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Notes to editors
The previous location, approximately 600 metres to the west of Caldercruix, was authorised under the Parliamentary Act and included a new access road from the A89 into the station and car park, which was proposed to be built on land currently occupied by pulp lagoons of the former Caldercruix Paper Mill.
These five interlinked ‘lagoons’ are designated a Site of Important Nature Conservation (SINC) and construction in the original location has the potential to impact more severely on the local environment and animal habitats.
The rail link project will re-open the passenger route between Airdrie and Bathgate more than 50 years after its closure. The project includes reinstating more than 15 miles of track, building new stations at Armadale and Caldercruix and re-locating stations at Bathgate and Drumgelloch.
When completed in 2010, the rail link will bring extensive passenger benefits including four more trains per hour in each direction between Glasgow and Edinburgh, shorter travel times and improved reliability of existing services.