'Snow delays will not hit railway deadline'

Published on Monday 8 March 2010 21:42

NETWORK Rail said yesterday it was "absolutely confident" of completing a new £300 million Edinburgh-Glasgow railway line on time despite work being halted for three weeks by snow.

Working hours have been extended and extra equipment drafted in to finish the route via Bathgate and Airdrie, due to be completed by December, and the firm said it had a contingency fund to cover the additional cost.

In the past few days, the first track has been laid on a 15-mile gap between Bathgate and Drumgelloch, east of Airdrie.

The improvements will enable trains to run every 15 minutes between Edinburgh and Glasgow, taking 65 minutes. Trains will then run on through Glasgow, providing direct services to Edinburgh from as far as Bearsden, Milngavie and Helensburgh.

However, the launch of services could be delayed by a dispute between train operator ScotRail and the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) over door operation being switched from conductors to drivers on the route.

A third one-day strike is planned by the RMT for Saturday, the day Scotland play England in the Calcutta Cup rugby international at Murrayfield in Edinburgh.

ScotRail said it was aiming to run 95 per cent of trains, including planned services for rugby fans, by using more than 200 managers who have been trained to stand-in as conductors. It ran 93 per cent in the last strike a week ago.