Plans are underway for improvements to Edinburgh Waverley Station

Initial work to begin the improvement of the Western approaches at Edinburgh’s Waverley station have been approved by the Scottish Transport Secretary, with the work in question being allocated a total sum of £15M to ensure completion.

The Edinburgh Waverley Western Approaches (EWWA) project has been taken forward to Outline the Business Case, which will entail the examination of the three potential options that have been presented to improve the capacity and performance of the railway station.

These options include the installation of a new chord (Almond chord) with flat junctions at both Winchburgh and Almond, the installation of an Almond chord with a flat Winchburgh Junction and a grade separated Almond Junction, and finally the installation of an Almond chord with grade separated junctions at both Winchburgh and Almond.

The Scottish Transport Secretary, Michael Matheson stated: “With Edinburgh being a key economic driver for the country, a reliable train service is essential for commuter and business travel. It provides confidence to businesses and passengers alike, that rail is the best option for their journey and thus enables the continued growth and prosperity of the city.

“One of the key aims of the Edinburgh Waverley Western Approaches project is to provide additional capacity to reduce these constraints, improve performance and give greater resilience across the railway.”

Edinburgh’s Waverley Station is one of the busiest and most critical train stations in Scotland, providing connections, across the country to the point that if trains are late, by as much as a few minutes, this can cause substantial delays to other services in a domino type effect throughout the entire network.

Current works and planning will involve the creation of models in addition to the calculation of cost-benefit analyses so that a potential cost figure can be taken forward through to the remaining stages of the planning process.

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