Airdrie–Bathgate Rail Link
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The Airdrie–Bathgate rail link is a completed
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
project in central Scotland. Instigated as part of a round of transport improvement projects proposed by the then
Scottish Executive The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in t ...
in 2003, the plan was to open up a fourth direct railway link between the cities of
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
and
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
. The project was completed in October 2010, at an estimated cost of £300 million. The rail link received the final approval of the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...
on 28 March 2007, and gained
royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...
on 9 May 2007.


Background

In line with plans to complete the missing part of the M8 motorway, the Executive stipulated that public transport links between Scotland's two largest cities must improve. The new line reinstates the
Bathgate and Coatbridge Railway The Bathgate and Coatbridge Railway, also known as the "New Monkland Line", was built by Monkland Railways. It opened on 28 July 1863. The line was absorbed into the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway on 31 July 1865. The following day (1 August 1865 ...
between Airdrie and Bathgate, closed to passengers in 1956 and to freight in 1982, joining the
North Clyde Line The North Clyde Line (defined by Network Rail as the ''Glasgow North Electric Suburban'' line) is a suburban railway in West Central Scotland. The route is operated by ScotRail. As a result of the incorporation of the Airdrie–Bathgate rail ...
of the Glasgow suburban railway network which currently links the
North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk (co ...
town of to
Glasgow Queen Street railway station Glasgow Queen Street () is a passenger railway terminus serving the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the smaller of the city's two mainline railway terminals (the larger being Glasgow Central) and is the third-busiest station in Scotland ...
, to the
Edinburgh to Bathgate Line Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh had a population of in , ...
, which connects with the West Coast and East Coast Main Lines at . It is now possible to travel from to Queen Street (Low Level) in around 65 minutes. It will complement the existing "shuttle" service between Queen Street (High Level) and Edinburgh via , which will remain the primary railway link between the two cities, taking around 50 minutes at peak times.


Benefits and infrastructure improvements

The line is intended to bring significant benefits to the West Lothian area, connecting it to the Greater Glasgow conurbation. New stations serve the towns of and
Armadale, West Lothian Armadale (, ) is a town within the county of West Lothian in the Central Belt of Scotland. It lies to the west of Bathgate and to the east of Blackridge, West Lothian, Blackridge. Armadale, formerly known as Barbauchlaw, is an ex-mining town wh ...
, while the
new town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...
of Livingston has an additional direct rail link to Glasgow. In order to permit four trains per hour in each direction, improvements to the existing line have been made: * The entire line is double track, doubling the lines between and Drumgelloch, and between Bathgate and Cawburn Junction, east of Uphall. * An upgrade of Newbridge Junction, where the railways from Bathgate and Falkirk to Edinburgh join. * New stations at Drumgelloch and in new locations. *
Electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...
of the line between Drumgelloch and Haymarket.


Progress

The start of work was signalled with a sod cutting ceremony at
Livingston North station Livingston North railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town of Livingston in West Lothian, Scotland. It is located on the Edinburgh-Bathgate Line 15½ miles (25 km) west of Edinburgh and situated in the Carmondea ...
in June 2007, attended by Transport Minister
Stewart Stevenson James Alexander Stewart Stevenson (''Gaelic: Seamus Alasdair Stiùbhart MacSteafain''; born 15 October 1946) is a Scottish former politician who served as Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change from 2007 to 2010 and Minister ...
. Contracts worth £300m for design, installation and commissioning of
signalling A signal is both the process and the result of transmission of data over some media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processing, information theory and biology. In ...
and telecommunications had been awarded by July 2008. Remodelling of Newbridge Junction and doubling of Bathgate branch was completed in October 2008. Blackridge railway station was included as one of the stations to be opened on the line. officially closed after the last train left at 23:08 for on 8 May 2010. opened in December 2010 550 metres to the east. On 27 August 2010 at Drumgelloch, a ceremony took place to lay the last piece of track between Airdrie and Bathgate joining the two towns by rail for the first time since 1982. With work to install overhead line and signalling equipment for the line complete, it was opened for operational use and driver training on 18 October 2010. Passenger services began on 12 December 2010, as an extension of the existing services to Airdrie on the
North Clyde Line The North Clyde Line (defined by Network Rail as the ''Glasgow North Electric Suburban'' line) is a suburban railway in West Central Scotland. The route is operated by ScotRail. As a result of the incorporation of the Airdrie–Bathgate rail ...
, incorporated into National Rail timetable 226. Services are currently hourly (half hourly on weekends). Drumgelloch, and Armadale were initially served by bus substitution services open due to the
inclement weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...
at the end of November 2010 delaying the completion of minor works (including surfacing of car parks). On 13 February 2011 opened. Armadale opened on 4 March, followed by Drumgelloch on 6 March, thus completing all station work. Effective 7 March, service between Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley increased to two trains per hour on weekdays, Saturdays and Sunday afternoons. On Tuesday 8 March 2011, Scottish Transport Minister Keith Brown officially opened the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link.


See also

*
Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme The Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme or EGIP was an initiative funded by Transport Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government to increase capacity on the main railway line between Edinburgh and Glasgow, with new, longer electric trains ...


References


Further reading

* Glen, A. ''Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link – Reconnecting Communities''. Ramsey (IOM), Lily Publications, 2010. .


External links


Official site for the Airdrie–Bathgate railway link
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Airdrie-Bathgate rail link Railway lines in Scotland Standard gauge railways in Scotland Airdrie, North Lanarkshire Transport in North Lanarkshire Transport in West Lothian Bathgate