Work under way on £1bn Glasgow rail link

Published on Wednesday 24 March 2010 08:53

WORK is under way on a £1 billion rail scheme which will see journey times between Edinburgh and Glasgow cut to 35 minutes.

Scotland's single largest rail improvement programme ever, the Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvements Programme (EGIP) will increase the number of services between the two cities from six to 13 per hour.

Preparatory work for the electrification of the railway is now nearing completion, with piling to test foundations for overhead wires expected to be completed by the end of the week.

The work was carried out at 95 sites along the route as part of a 950,000 contract awarded to Carillion, the company which carried out much of the utility diversions for Edinburgh's tram project.

Transport minister Stewart Stevenson said: "The Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvements Programme will revolutionise the rail network in central Scotland and I'm delighted that early work on this exciting programme of rail improvements is already well under way.

"The completion of the pilot programme, which finishes this week, will determine where the major electrical infrastructure will be best located as part of the electrification of the railway across central Scotland. This is an important milestone."