Plans to reopen South Sub are back on track

PLANS to reopen a railway in the south of the city were today back on the agenda after receiving fresh backing from councillors.

An all-party group of politicians is to meet with Transport Minister Tavish Scott and ask him to support the reopening of the Edinburgh South Suburban Railway.

A new study is also to be commissioned, to investigate ways of paying for the project with public money. Four years ago, a private consortium of transport experts and developers came up with a way to use contributions to fund the scheme, but the council today said it had doubts about whether this would work.

Campaigners have fought for decades to reintroduce passenger trains to the South Suburban Railway after they were withdrawn in the 1960s, and lobby groups recently criticised the council for "neglecting" the scheme.

The "South Sub" would cost around 18 million - a fraction of the hundreds of millions the Executive has committed to other transport schemes.

Lib Dem councillor Phil Wheeler, the party's Edinburgh transport spokesman, said: "There will now be an all-party delegation to press the case for funding to the Transport Minister."

The most recent feasibility study recommended a reinstated passenger service with trains travelling between Waverley and Haymarket via stations at Gorgie, Craiglockhart, Morningside, Blackford or Newington, Cameron Toll, Craigmillar, Niddrie and Kinnaird.

The report suggested if trains were to run every 15 minutes, the line could attract between 9000 and 13,500 people every day.

Although there are good public transport links to and from Edinburgh's city centre, "radial" routes around the Capital are not well served, and this is seen as a key solution.

Although until recently there were concerns about the capacity for more services at crowded Waverley, Network Rail's 150 million "phase one" redevelopment of the station now means the service could soon be viable.

In 2002, the E-Rail group said it would be possible to finance the scheme with contributions from developers able to charge premium rates for the sale or rental of property close to the route.

But outgoing council leader Donald Anderson said this avenue relies on building new retail development, which may not be approved by city planners. He added: "We need a new independent feasibility study that looks at what would be involved in reopening the South Sub.

"We are now taking practical steps to deliver the South Sub. It is the top project in the council's draft local transport strategy."

Colin Howden, director of transport lobby group TRANSform Scotland, said the decision to seek a meeting with the Executive was "good news".

A Scottish Executive spokeswoman warned that any decision of funding would be taken as part of the next review of major transport projects.