Edinburgh Airport railway station
Encyclopedia
The Edinburgh Airport Rail Link (EARL) was a proposed rail link to Edinburgh Airport
, Scotland
. The project was passed by the Scottish Parliament
in 2007, but following a change of government, was cancelled in September 2007 on grounds of cost.
The link was planned to open in 2011 and would have included an underground airport station located beneath the terminal building. A tunnel was to have been constructed to take trains underneath the main runway
. The Edinburgh Airport Rail Link would have allowed direct rail travel to and from the airport from Scotland’s main towns and cities. New rolling stock
was to be ordered for the service to compensate for any extra journey time created by the additional stop.
and the Edinburgh-Glasgow
railway lines. The EARL project aimed to construct connecting links from these lines, intersecting at a new underground railway station underneath Edinburgh Airport, in order to provide direct rail links to the airport from Edinburgh
, Glasgow
and other Scottish cities.
The project was proposed by the Labour
and Liberal Democrat
coalition of the Scottish Government and it was also supported by the Scottish Conservatives. The Scottish National Party
(SNP) and the Scottish Green Party
both opposed the project on grounds of cost and because it duplicated existing bus services. The cost of the station alone was initially estimated at £100 million because it had to conform to strict fire standards for underground stations. The total cost of the project was thought to be £500 million - even so the benefit cost ratio was very high because of the considerable interconnectivity provided.
The Edinburgh Airport Rail Link Bill was passed in March 2007 by a vote in the Scottish Parliament
of 86 votes to 29. It received Royal Assent
on 19 April 2007.
It was anticipated that services would have been provided by First ScotRail
, GNER and Virgin Trains
.
, the newly-elected SNP minority government
announced their intention to cancel the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link project in September 2007 amid concerns over the need for public spending cuts.
Following a vote in the Scottish Parliament on 27 June 2007, the Scottish Government agreed to retain the Edinburgh Trams project which would construct a light rail
line between the airport and Edinburgh city centre (see the map of the proposed airport tram route). John Swinney
MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance in the Scottish Government, warned that the full underground EARL project would probably be scrapped in favour of the electrification of the Glasgow-Edinburgh Main Line
. The Edinburgh Trams service is expected to launch around 2012.
To address the loss of direct mainline rail links from around Scotland to Edinburgh Airport, the Scottish Government instead proposed a cheaper alternative in the form of a new interchange station at Gogar
offering interchange between the Fife Circle Line
and the Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line
and Edinburgh Trams.
Transport commentators criticised the cancellation of the project, claiming that approximately £30 million had been spent on the scheme.
Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh Airport is located at Turnhouse in the City of Edinburgh, Scotland, and was the busiest airport in Scotland in 2010, handling just under 8.6 million passengers in that year. It was also the sixth busiest airport in the UK by passengers and the fifth busiest by aircraft movements...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The project was passed by the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
in 2007, but following a change of government, was cancelled in September 2007 on grounds of cost.
The link was planned to open in 2011 and would have included an underground airport station located beneath the terminal building. A tunnel was to have been constructed to take trains underneath the main runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
. The Edinburgh Airport Rail Link would have allowed direct rail travel to and from the airport from Scotland’s main towns and cities. New rolling stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
was to be ordered for the service to compensate for any extra journey time created by the additional stop.
Background
Although Edinburgh Airport has no railway station, it lies in close proximity to two major railway lines, the Fife CircleFife Circle Line
The Fife Circle is the local rail service north from Edinburgh. It links all the towns of south Fife and the coastal towns along the Firth of Forth before heading to Edinburgh.-Service:...
and the Edinburgh-Glasgow
Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk Line
The Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk Line is a mainline railway line linking Glasgow and Edinburgh via Falkirk in Scotland. It is the principal route out of the four rail links between Scotland's two biggest cities, hosting the flagship "Shuttle" service between and .- Places served :The route...
railway lines. The EARL project aimed to construct connecting links from these lines, intersecting at a new underground railway station underneath Edinburgh Airport, in order to provide direct rail links to the airport from Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and other Scottish cities.
The project was proposed by the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
and Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
coalition of the Scottish Government and it was also supported by the Scottish Conservatives. The Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
(SNP) and the Scottish Green Party
Scottish Green Party
The Scottish Green Party is a green party in Scotland. It has two MSPs in the devolved Scottish Parliament, Alison Johnstone, representing Lothian, and Patrick Harvie, for Glasgow.-Organisation:...
both opposed the project on grounds of cost and because it duplicated existing bus services. The cost of the station alone was initially estimated at £100 million because it had to conform to strict fire standards for underground stations. The total cost of the project was thought to be £500 million - even so the benefit cost ratio was very high because of the considerable interconnectivity provided.
The Edinburgh Airport Rail Link Bill was passed in March 2007 by a vote in the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
of 86 votes to 29. It received Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
on 19 April 2007.
Proposed services
Though the exact timetable had not been finalised, the following service pattern was expected to have been implemented:- Edinburgh-Glasgow - 2 trains per hour
- Edinburgh-Dunblane - 2 trains per hour
- Fife Circle - 2 trains per hour
- Edinburgh-Aberdeen - 1 train per hour
- Edinburgh-Perth & Inverness - 1 train per hour
It was anticipated that services would have been provided by First ScotRail
First ScotRail
ScotRail Railways Ltd. is the FirstGroup-owned train operating company running domestic passenger trains within Scotland, northern England and the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper service to London using the brand ScotRail which is the property of the Scottish Government...
, GNER and Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
.
Cancellation
Following the Scottish Parliament election, 2007Scottish Parliament election, 2007
The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999...
, the newly-elected SNP minority government
Government of the 3rd Scottish Parliament
The Government of the 3rd Scottish Parliament was formed after the 2007 elections to the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Government is headed by First Minister Alex Salmond.- First Salmond government :...
announced their intention to cancel the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link project in September 2007 amid concerns over the need for public spending cuts.
Following a vote in the Scottish Parliament on 27 June 2007, the Scottish Government agreed to retain the Edinburgh Trams project which would construct a light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
line between the airport and Edinburgh city centre (see the map of the proposed airport tram route). John Swinney
John Swinney
John Ramsey Swinney is the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth in the Scottish Government and the Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Perthshire North, having previously represented North Tayside...
MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance in the Scottish Government, warned that the full underground EARL project would probably be scrapped in favour of the electrification of the Glasgow-Edinburgh Main Line
Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk Line
The Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk Line is a mainline railway line linking Glasgow and Edinburgh via Falkirk in Scotland. It is the principal route out of the four rail links between Scotland's two biggest cities, hosting the flagship "Shuttle" service between and .- Places served :The route...
. The Edinburgh Trams service is expected to launch around 2012.
To address the loss of direct mainline rail links from around Scotland to Edinburgh Airport, the Scottish Government instead proposed a cheaper alternative in the form of a new interchange station at Gogar
Gogar railway station
Gogar station is a planned railway station and interchange at Gogar in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. It is to be served by First ScotRail and Edinburgh Trams.Current proposals are to call the rail station and tram stop Edinburgh Gateway....
offering interchange between the Fife Circle Line
Fife Circle Line
The Fife Circle is the local rail service north from Edinburgh. It links all the towns of south Fife and the coastal towns along the Firth of Forth before heading to Edinburgh.-Service:...
and the Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line
Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line
The Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line is a railway line linking Edinburgh with Aberdeen via the Forth Bridge, the Tay Bridge and Dundee. Also it serves as an extension to the East Coast Main Line and the Cross Country Route...
and Edinburgh Trams.
Transport commentators criticised the cancellation of the project, claiming that approximately £30 million had been spent on the scheme.
See also
- Transport in EdinburghTransport in EdinburghEdinburgh constitutes a major transport hub in east central Scotland and as such is at the centre of a multi-modal transport network comprising road, rail and air communications connecting the city with the rest of Scotland, the United Kingdom and internationally....
- Edinburgh Trams
- Edinburgh AirportEdinburgh AirportEdinburgh Airport is located at Turnhouse in the City of Edinburgh, Scotland, and was the busiest airport in Scotland in 2010, handling just under 8.6 million passengers in that year. It was also the sixth busiest airport in the UK by passengers and the fifth busiest by aircraft movements...
- Glasgow Airport Rail Link