Possible plans for Edinburgh Waverley station?

[GrimShady]

Thats where the tram comes into play.

 

[GrimShady]

I should add that Glasgow suffers from the same issue with no link between Queen Street and Central apart from a bus or walk.

 

[Chrism20]

Interesting piece on the Evening News website who visited the tunnels under Waverley last week. First time anyone has been down there in twelve years apparently.

There is also a short video which is quite good.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/video-the-forgotten-tunnels-hidden-beneath-waverley-station-1-4436362

THE CENTRE of Scotland’s capital city is built on many layers and levels, all of different ages, interlocking and enveloping one another; a veritable warren of subterranean secrets. Think of South Bridge and the Niddry Street vaults, the New Town’s Scotland Street railway tunnel or even Mary King’s Close. What you see at ground level in Edinburgh is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s much more to this ancient city than meets the eye.

 

[47271]

Just a quick update on the platform extensions from when I passed through this evening.

Carillion have builders huts occupying a good proportion of what will become the mid section of platforms 5 and 6, and as far west as the end of platform 4.

There's an enclosure built on the old cab rank with what looks like surveying equipment in it, it seems that they're drilling down to see what horrors may lurk below road surface level.

 

[Gadget88]

When does WH Smith reopen?

Seems to hage been downsized.

 

[Blindtraveler]

I think the actual outer shell of the unit remains the same but from what myself and IanXC observed today in passing its going to be a joint venture with a Pret counter for fancy coffees/foody type things with th the WHS side of the store, I assume minus the food/drink and the the wonderfully cheep Nescaf machine a wee bit smaller. There is apparently one of these joint ventures in Hull also so we'll see. I personally think the old concept worked fine but we'll see. I might be won over if the Pret consession offers 99p filter coffees like the one in Birmingham New Street but Im not holding out to much hope.

 

[route101]

I think the actual outer shell of the unit remains the same but from what myself and IanXC observed today in passing its going to be a joint venture with a Pret counter for fancy coffees/foody type things with th the WHS side of the store, I assume minus the food/drink and the the wonderfully cheep Nescaf machine a wee bit smaller. There is apparently one of these joint ventures in Hull also so we'll see. I personally think the old concept worked fine but we'll see. I might be won over if the Pret consession offers 99p filter coffees like the one in Birmingham New Street but Im not holding out to much hope.

Shame if its been downsized , it was bigger than the cramped Glasgow Central Branch .

 

[route:oxford]

Interesting piece on the Evening News website who visited the tunnels under Waverley last week. First time anyone has been down there in twelve years apparently.

There is also a short video which is quite good.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/video-the-forgotten-tunnels-hidden-beneath-waverley-station-1-4436362

Thanks for the link. A friend of mine did a architecture project back in the early 1990s as part of his degree. I remember him telling me at the time about the staff shooting range etc beneath Waverley.

One of the best things that could happen would be to utilise the space below Waverley for a new HS2 station.

 

[jzw95]

Thanks for the link. A friend of mine did a architecture project back in the early 1990s as part of his degree. I remember him telling me at the time about the staff shooting range etc beneath Waverley.

The shooting range was in a different section than the tunnels visited in the Scotsman article. It was in the tunnels under the main ticket hall building. As far as I know, these are still used for storage and other things. In the 2000s, the Bike Station was based down there, and I spent many evenings underneath the ticket hall, volunteering. Interesting place, and some of the shooting club signs were still up back then.

 

[47271]

Platform 12 is now out of use and was occupied by an engineers train today.

More equipment has appeared within the compound set up on the site of the old taxi rank.

This also came up in the Caledonian Sleeper thread earlier, but overnight possessions on this south side of the station mean that the Highlander is shunting on the north through roads, and some CS locos are stabling daytime in the siding between P16 and P17. There was a 92 in there today.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Do we have a date for the demolition work on the P12 side?

 

[takno]

Platform 12 is now out of use and was occupied by an engineers train today.

12 has been shut for a few weeks according to the signal box describers https://traksy.uk/live/M+1+EDINBUR , although the engineers train is new. I don't remember the old 5/6 being marked as "SHUT" before, I think they had engineering stuff in them last weekend.

 

[och aye]

The station looked so much less cluttered in the 1980s!

 

[route:oxford]

The station looked so much less cluttered in the 1980s!

It only had half the number of services back then.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Better without the smelly 1980s car exhausts, though.

 

[edwin_m]

Better without the smelly 1980s car exhausts, though.

Not to mention the inevitable couple of 101s clagging away behind the departure board.

 

[47271]

Hell's teeth, what a tacky shambles. Makes you glad to be alive in 2017.

 

[Mag_seven]

Hell's teeth, what a tacky shambles. Makes you glad to be alive in 2017.

Disagree - proper trains with the only plastic in sight being the red plastic seats!

 

[Chrism20]

Model images of how platforms 5, 6 and 12 will look once the current works have been completed courtesy of the Evening News.

Engineers are currently working in Scotland’s second busiest station to extend platforms 5 and 6, to the east of the station, and 12, to the west.

The project will prepare Waverley for the arrival of Virgin East Coast’s new Azuma trains and ScotRail’s new class-385s. As the project enters its next phase, Network Rail will soon begin to extend platform 12 further into the station and to remove redundant buildings on platform 11. To enable these vital enhancements to take place, the escalators on platform 11 will close to the public on Saturday, September 2, and reopen in early 2018 when the extended platform 12 comes into service. Rodger Querns, Network Rail programme director, said: “Extending Edinburgh Waverley’s platforms is vital to the long-term future of the station and paves the way for the introduction of two new state-of-the-art train fleets.

 

[47271]

Splendid, and a great step forward in rail capacity as we know.

Meanwhile, are there plans to do anything about the taxis in Market Street? I know that it's the Festival at the moment, but the situation continues to be an absolute disgrace, with bewildered passengers queuing in the rain, a jumble of drop offs and pickups, three point turns all over the place and ordinary traffic backed up in both directions.

Could they not turn the Calton Road drop off into the main taxi rank and keep Market Street as a secondary facility? Cabs could line up along the slope from New Street and pick up right by the foot of the lift. Okay, the top end of Calton Road is a bit compromised at the moment, but when Leith Street is fully reopened in a year or so taxis could be at the east end of Princes Street in a couple of minutes. At the moment the Calton Road yard is mainly occupied by parked BTP vehicles, I'm sure they could just as easily take prime position in the main car park, and a very occasional taxi in the know dropping off.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Good to hear of some progress, even if said progress means in the short term inconvenience.

Re Taxis, the idea above has far to much common sense to even occur to those in charge.

 

[jopsuk]

So 7 & 11 (and 6) gain barriers? That'll be popular with busy East Coast services decanting there

 

[DuncanS]

There are barriers at Kings Cross - you have to use your ticket to get through them, this will be no different.

 

[Blindtraveler]

I fear barriering some of these may cause croud controll/passenger flow issues as busy periods, given the number of big things that happen here, festivals, New Year, Rugby etc

 

[gsnedders]

There are barriers at Kings Cross - you have to use your ticket to get through them, this will be no different.

When were the barriers added to the mainline platforms? I remember them being gated (with large metal gates), but no ticket barriers, but I haven't been through the mainline bit in around a decade.

 

[DuncanS]

Sometime in the last 5 years or so, there are two sets - one at the end of the platforms and then another lot to take you into or out of the main concourse.

Last year was the first time I'd been through Kings Cross and they were actually in operation, previously they had been open when I'd arrived/departed.

Here is a pic of them from Network Rail site,

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/images/SMEHotspotDetails/SME_KGX/o2248-0002133.jpg

And the google for that brought this thread on here up from 2013,

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=86441

 

[xotGD]

Sometime in the last 5 years or so, there are two sets - one at the end of the platforms and then another lot to take you into or out of the main concourse.

Last year was the first time I'd been through Kings Cross and they were actually in operation, previously they had been open when I'd arrived/departed.

Here is a pic of them from Network Rail site,

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/images/SMEHotspotDetails/SME_KGX/o2248-0002133.jpg

And the google for that brought this thread on here up from 2013,

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=86441

There is also a third set - On the bridge.

 

[47271]

Kings Cross low numbers gatelines are very hit and miss, sometimes they're operational, sometimes they're not and there doesn't seem to be any pattern to the time of day. I'd say that I walk straight through more often than not.

They are very spread out around an L shape, I can see that they must be difficult to staff.

 

[och aye]

Are there plans to install ticket barriers at platforms 3 & 4 during these works?

 

[route:oxford]

Kings Cross low numbers gatelines are very hit and miss, sometimes they're operational, sometimes they're not.

And even when they are operational they have problems with print-at-home tickets. Wouldn't be the first time I've had to force my way through them when they have failed to recognise my valid ticket.

The best thing to happen at Edinburgh and Haymarket would be for new underground stations to be built for electric services.