A £650 million scheme to electrify a route between Scotland’s two major cities will cut train times and create hundreds of jobs, says Scotland’s Transport Minister.
MP Keith Brown has outlined plans to electrify the Glasgow’s Queen Street to Edinburgh Waverley train route, which will cut 10 minutes from journey times.
The scheme to upgrade Scotland’s flagship railway line, which was announced Mr Brown today, is also expected to create hundreds of jobs.
The Scottish Government estimates that the improvements will cut journey times by 10 minutes, from the current 50-minute travel time between Scotland’s largest city and its capital.
The project will see longer electric trains introduced between Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh via Falkirk High, and Queen Street station will be revamped and a new station will see services connect to Edinburgh Airport.
The programme will further include the electrification of Cumbernauld line services in time for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014
Launching the programme at Glasgow’s Queen Street station, Mr Brown said: “I am very excited to be announcing the details of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme, which will take train journeys on Scotland’s busiest commuter route into the next generation.”
He added: “The new scheme, which is already on site at Haymarket Station, will not only save hundreds of millions for the public purse but will also play a part in guaranteeing we have a railway service for the future.”
No mention of the bulk of the EGIP project that has “vapourised” viz electrification via Falkirk Grahamston (INCLUDING the Cumbernauld-FKG section) to Stirling, Dunblane and Alloa – nor the deletion of the grade-separated junctions at Greenhill and Winchburgh and the Dalmeny Chord!Â