Airdrie-Bathgate Railway Link, United Kingdom

The Airdrie-Bathgate Railway Link connects Edinburgh to Glasgow through Bathgate, Drumgelloch and Airdrie. The project will see the reopening of the closed Airdrie-Bathgate Railway Link. The Airdrie-Bathgate Railway and Linked Improvements Act obtained the Royal Assent to reopen theAirdrie link in May 2007.

The link has remained closed for 50 years since 1956. The lines for freight traffic were closed in 1982 and the rail lines were removed. A single track between Bathgate and Edinburgh was reopened in 1986. In 2004, the Scottish Government decided to reopen the line on the recommendations of the Central Scotland Transport Corridor Study.

The study has recommended the line to encourage the use of public transport among the local communities. This will ease the traffic on the A8/M8 and A80 road networks as well as providing better public transport in West Lothian and North Lanarkshire.

The Scottish Government also finds the project economically viable as it expects a return of £1.81 for every £1 spent on it.

Network Rail, the key owner and operator of the British rail network, will manage the project on behalf of Transport Scotland. The Transport Scotland-funded project costs £300m.

The project will reopen the link as well as upgrade the existing Airdrie-Drumgelloch and Bathgate-Edinburgh lines. This will result in a double-tracked electrified railway line from Glasgow to Edinburgh.

The project

The project manager, Network Rail and its team of contractors have taken up the construction activity in three stages – Advanced Works, Main Works and Final Works.

In the Advanced Works stage, the construction work will be carried out between Newbridge Junction and Bathgate. This involves upgrade of the double tracking of Edinburgh-Bathgate line, and upgrade of the Livingston North and Uphall Stations.

The Main Works stage involves the connection of Edinburgh and Glasgow by constructing two new stations at Armadale and Caldercruix; relocation of stations at Bathgate and Drumgelloch; and construction of a new double-tracked and electrified line between Bathgate and Drumgelloch stations. The Final Works stage includes the upgrade of Airdrie and Livingston North stations.

In October 2008, a contract worth £60m to construct the new Airdrie-Bathgate rail link was awarded to Balfour Beatty Rail Projects (BBRP). This includes the construction of a new track between Airdrie and Bathgate, double tracking the line between Airdrie and Drumgelloch and electrifying the entire route.

During April 2009, three contracts worth £80m, £14m and £6m respectively were awarded by Network Rail to Carillion, BAM Nuttall and C Spencer. Carillion is building the three new stations Caldercruix, Armadale and Drumgelloch, as well as carrying out certain ground treatment and filling activities. The new Bathgate station, new platform at Airdrie and bridge and earthworks are to be delivered by BAM Nuttall. C Spencer is responsible for developing the new light maintenance depot at Bathgate.

The proposal to construct a new station at Blackridge was approved by the West Lothian Council in March 2009. Network Rail is trying to design and integrate the construction of the station into the project.

Infrastructure

Double tracking of the rail link began in June 2008 and was completed in October 2008. Construction of the new railway line and stations, and the upgrade of stations began in late 2008-early 2009.

The work on the new rail link between Airdrie and Bathgate began in mid-2009. The project is expected to be completed with trains running both ways by December 2010.

The National Cycle Route 75 is a 16km path across central Scotland. It was developed after the Airdrie and Bathgate link was closed in 1982. The cycle path was closed in October 2008, to facilitate railway line construction work between Bathgate and Drumgelloch. Network Rail plans to invest £7.3m to construct a new cycle path parallel to the railway line by December 2010.

The Airdrie-Bathgate link will complete the missing link between Glasgow and Edinburgh. This will have a new railway link between Drumgelloch and Bathgate, which extends about 15 miles. It will have three new stations: Armadale, Caldercruix and Blackridge; relocated stations: Bathgate and Drumgelloch; and upgraded stations: Airdrie, Livingston North and Uphall.

The link will be fully double-tracked and electrified extending up to 47 miles. The journey time is anticipated to be 74 minutes from Edinburgh Waverley to Glasgow Queen Street.

Two trains will stop every hour at Armadale, Caldercruix and Drumgelloch stations and the other upgraded and relocated stations in the new railway link will have four stops each hour.

Rolling stock

Network Rail expects to run four trains each hour between Edinburgh and Glasgow during peak hours. Trains on this line will run at a speed of 80 miles/hour. Though the rolling stock has not yet been decided, the line is expected to have Class 334 and Class 318 trains. These are currently being used in Ayrshire and Inverclyde routes, which will get the new Class 380 stock in 2010.

Environmental impact

An Environmental Impact Assessment and Landscape and Habitat Management Plan has been completed by Scottish National Heritage (SNH) and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). The key impact areas of the railway construction were defined and ways to reduce such effects have been suggested. Network Rail has conducted surveys to identify endangered species; devegetation to avoid animal breeding; reuse of pulp to improve the quality of earth; and has plans for vegetation replanting after completing the construction of the new railway line.

The key environmental benefits of the railway link are: electrified lines reducing carbon emissions; 1,000 parking spaces at stations encouraging people to park and travel; and a £7.3m investment to build the cycle path.