Letters: Extra car park would stop trains plan hitting buffers

While I have no doubt that peak-hour calls on some of the services via Falkirk High would be well supported, I am less confident about the potential custom for an off-peak service unless the Edinburgh Park package can be made more relevant to the residents of west and south Edinburgh.

I would like to see [Edinburgh Park developer] New Edinburgh Ltd promote or support an additional car park in the empty area just to the west of the new Premier Inn but, failing that, I would be willing to settle for a significant extension of the existing “cheap and cheerful” facility into the same area which would allow rail users to park relatively close to the station. I have no problem with the £3 daily charge.

Similarly, I would like to see a parking facility established on the south side of the railway. There remains an unused tongue of land opposite the Novotel Hotel which could be used for the purpose but a better solution, to my mind, would be to persuade the owner and tenants of Hermiston Gait to do a deal whereby part of the underused north end of the large car park is marked off as available for general use, subject to an appropriate charge of, perhaps, £3 per day.

Hermiston Gait could acquire a “nice little earner” for virtually no cost as well as the prospect of some extra business, and potential rail users would gain access to attractive journey opportunities to central Glasgow.

Willie Scott, Durham Avenue

Turning deaf ear to tram prayers

With regard to the practice of saying prayers at Edinburgh council meetings (News, February 14), one wonders if the Almighty has been listening to the presumably earnest appeals of God-fearing councillors to provide a solution to the tram shambles? I guess not.

Alistair McBay, Lawmuirview, Methven, Perthshire

Station taxi ban taken with regret

In response to your report (“Waverley taxi ban over terror fears”, News, February 14), I would like to clarify a few points.

The decision to remove taxis and private vehicles from the station by the end of July is a result of security guidelines set down by the Department for Transport. These guidelines apply to all major transport hubs and have been drawn up to reduce the security risk in busy enclosed spaces.

The removal of vehicles is a measure which Network Rail will take with regret. The opportunity to catch taxis or drop off passengers in the station is a benefit which our customers have long enjoyed and there will be understandable frustration that this will no longer be possible. The station will also no longer benefit from the income generated from taxi permits, so any suggestion that we have been looking to impose this ban for a long time is incorrect.

We recognise this change in policy will cause some concerns for our passengers, particularly those with reduced mobility and heavy baggage, and we will do all we can to retain accessibility. That’s why Network Rail has been working to improve access to and from Princes Street and Market Street. By summer, both these entrances will be fully Disability Discrimination Act compliant.

We are currently working with Edinburgh City Council to examine options for an alternative location for a taxi rank and drop-off area as close to the station as possible and will publicise details of these alternative arrangements as they become available.

David Simpson, route managing director, Network Rail Scotland, Port Dundas Road, Glasgow

No time for scare in the community

I KNOW that soon I’m going to wake one morning to find that both the Unionists and the Separatists have realised that they are not going to win my vote by trying to scare me. Then the current Captains and the Kings will depart, and the debate by grown-ups begins.

If in two years time I remain unconvinced by any of them, I shall choose to follow the healthiest looking party leader: the one who still has some miles left in them. Unfortunately, that rules out some of the Holyrood brigade already. Pity.

David Fiddimore, Nether Craigwell, Calton Road