Possible plans for Edinburgh Waverley station?

[big all]

nice to see the car park given back to trains
where do the cabs go to now ??

 

[47271]

nice to see the car park given back to trains
where do the cabs go to now ??

A total shambles in Market Street, it's an embarrassment to the city.

 

[big all]

A total shambles in Market Street, it's an embarrassment to the city.

fair old distance the with a minimum about 10 steps onto the waverly footbrige then lift to the platform
or a hellish via waverly bridge and ramp
is there any drop off at platform level at all ??

 

[47271]

fair old distance the with a minimum about 10 steps onto the waverly footbrige then lift to the platform
or a hellish via waverly bridge and ramp
is there any drop off at platform level at all ??

There's lifts to all levels but they don't cope when a busy train spills out.

No platform level access other than for deliveries, emergency vehicles and, of course, construction equipment.

 

[big all]

tried google earth and it shows masses off taxis in market street then you find the out ramp marked as up and down with taxis where the used to be then realize the image is from 2014
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@55.9...dwwI9_p7XEwfPiG9zP6Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

 

[13h202]

New signals commissioned today at Plat 5 and 6. Not long now until they come into use I would assume?
https://twitter.com/NetworkRailSCOT/status/1090524749606866944

 

[David M]

New signals commissioned today at Plat 5 and 6. Not long now until they come into use I would assume?
https://twitter.com/NetworkRailSCOT/status/1090524749606866944

Curious that there doesn't appear to be any studded or yellow bumped area - assuming they're going to install then why not do it at the same time as tarmacking?

 

[mcmad]

If its the yellow studs then they could only be installed once the surface is down and set. Probably going to do them all in one go rather than piecemeal.

 

[HankyuDentetsu]

Agreed that the taxi situation on Market Street is simply not fit for purpose.

Is there any reason that this can't be used as the taxi rank? https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@55.9...tuaWlmsvIBI9yLVdHP-Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Seems perfectly suited; it's covered, has a nice turning space, wide enough for two lanes - entry and exit - and crucially has stairless access so perfect for less mobile passengers.

 

[big all]

the taxis used to line up down there but remember that actual image is 4 years out off date

 

[mcmad]

Thats the emergency services route to the station, last thing you want is it rammed with taxis.

 

[Esker-pades]

Agreed that the taxi situation on Market Street is simply not fit for purpose.

Is there any reason that this can't be used as the taxi rank? https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@55.9...tuaWlmsvIBI9yLVdHP-Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Seems perfectly suited; it's covered, has a nice turning space, wide enough for two lanes - entry and exit - and crucially has stairless access so perfect for less mobile passengers.

The other side is a bus stand.

 

[Craig2601]

Just looked at Google Maps and thought could taxis not share with drop off point on Calton Road or have it expanded to have a dedicated taxi rank?

 

[mcmad]

The drop off point isn't very large as it is with little scope to expand. There wouldn't be room for taxis in the current set up

 

[Esker-pades]

Just looked at Google Maps and thought could taxis not share with drop off point on Calton Road or have it expanded to have a dedicated taxi rank?

Calton Road is a weird one. The only access to Edinburgh City Centre is to turn all the way round and come back onto the top of Leith Walk. The roads around there are already pretty full for most of the day (the building works don't help). I don't think road planners would thank you for putting all the taxi traffic through that little tight turn.

Secondly, the Carlton Road exit is very awkward. It's right at one end of the station, and the access to platforms 1 and 20 are awful. To get to platform 1, one can't simply use the stairs down (because there aren't any). Instead one has to go over to platform 2, walk back to the Waverley Steps exit, go up and across there and then back down onto platforms 1/20 to walk all the way back to platform 1. It's dreadful.

 

[47271]

Calton Road is a weird one. The only access to Edinburgh City Centre is to turn all the way round and come back onto the top of Leith Walk. The roads around there are already pretty full for most of the day (the building works don't help). I don't think road planners would thank you for putting all the taxi traffic through that little tight turn.

Secondly, the Carlton Road exit is very awkward. It's right at one end of the station, and the access to platforms 1 and 20 are awful. To get to platform 1, one can't simply use the stairs down (because there aren't any). Instead one has to go over to platform 2, walk back to the Waverley Steps exit, go up and across there and then back down onto platforms 1/20 to walk all the way back to platform 1. It's dreadful.

Calton Road is wide enough towards New Street to accomodate a taxi rank feeding into the current drop off area. Lift capacity would need to be increased, but in my view this location would be less chaotic than the total mess that is Market Street at the moment. Cabs could leave via New Street and Market Street as well as the admittedly tricky turn into Leith Street. I'm not saying that it would be ideal, but it would still be better than what we have.

As for reaching P1 from the Calton Road entrance, it's perfectly possible to the extent that it was a temporary arrangement a few years ago via what was the post van entrance while (as I recall) they were pulling down the old mail handling depot to create that useless piece of empty tarmac that used to be the short stay car park by P2. They'd just need to find a way of barriering it.

You used to get 20 mins free in the short stay - ideal for nipping in to M&S for a bit of food shopping!

 

[railjock]

Calton Road is wide enough towards New Street to accomodate a taxi rank feeding into the current drop off area. Lift capacity would need to be increased, but in my view this location would be less chaotic than the total mess that is Market Street at the moment. Cabs could leave via New Street and Market Street as well as the admittedly tricky turn into Leith Street. I'm not saying that it would be ideal, but it would still be better than what we have.

As for reaching P1 from the Calton Road entrance, it's perfectly possible to the extent that it was a temporary arrangement a few years ago via what was the post van entrance while (as I recall) they were pulling down the old mail handling depot to create that useless piece of empty tarmac that used to be the short stay car park by P2. They'd just need to find a way of barriering it.

You used to get 20 mins free in the short stay - ideal for nipping in to M&S for a bit of food shopping!

If cars were excluded from Market Street it would be less of a problem but then you would just increase issues for private cars dropping off and picking up as well. Being deep in the valley there is no ideal solution to either problem I can think off without major work.

 

[InOban]

Which is complicated by the fact that almost everything in the area is listed.

 

[sprinterguy]

They could do with tidying up that collection of Platform 11 Stop markers! are there any other stop positions, in that direction, anywhere along the platform? If not, surely a "S ALL" marker would be appropriate? At the very least the Scotrail HST one seems to be superfluous if all other Scotrail DMU and EMU services are to stop there regardless of formation length

Well spotted, that is a bit of a mess. Needs one of those big cast iron signs reading "ALL TRAINS STOP HERE" that you used to get.

 

[edwin_m]

Probably cheaper just to tell someone to stick a new sign up on each platform than to review all the existing ones and decide whether a new one is needed.

 

[neil henderson]

If cars were excluded from Market Street it would be less of a problem but then you would just increase issues for private cars dropping off and picking up as well. Being deep in the valley there is no ideal solution to either problem I can think off without major work.

upper deck on the car pack, level with the passenger bridge just for taxis and dropping off.

 

[47271]

upper deck on the car pack, level with the passenger bridge just for taxis and dropping off.

Yes, good idea, and there's already a closed off entrance and ramp on Market Street close to the council offices.

 

[big all]

upper deck on the car pack, level with the passenger bridge just for taxis and dropping off.

prime real estate above railways
my thoughts where similar but more involved but fully over the car park area
bottom level most or all given over to platforms and tracks
first floor booking office taxi rank pick up and drop off direct connections to footbridge levels with some retail
say a further 5 levels with maybe 2 mixed short and long term parking and thee a mixture as require off housing retail office or whatever pays for the whole project

 

[neil henderson]

prime real estate above railways
my thoughts where similar but more involved but fully over the car park area
bottom level most or all given over to platforms and tracks
first floor booking office taxi rank pick up and drop off direct connections to footbridge levels with some retail
say a further 5 levels with maybe 2 mixed short and long term parking and thee a mixture as require off housing retail office or whatever pays for the whole project

I don't think that would be allowed, there is an act of parliament http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2000/6/enacted/data.html that restricts the height to protect the views of the Waverley valley and the old and new town.

 

[Islandexpress]

I once heard (and cannot quote where) that due to the size of Edinburgh Waverley, the density of the buildings surrounding and the proximity of the parliament buildings, other government offices, the station itself and other ‘targets’ the car park had to remain open and unbuilt on to be used as an evacuation area in case of a ‘disaster’. Of course could be an urban myth....

 

[big all]

I don't think that would be allowed, there is an act of parliament http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2000/6/enacted/data.html that restricts the height to protect the views of the Waverley valley and the old and new town.

handy link thanks
although 42ft above rail could still be a 3 floor structure[2 above the tracks] possibly with a roof or the third level being an open car park level

 

[ian1944]

The signage at the Calton Road entrance is "Waverley Customer Drop-Off & Passenger Pick-Up Area". Valued customers on the way in, but not when they've been dealt with so the old despised wording appears? Still, at least it's free, suggesting that not a lot use the area. Compare with Edinburgh Airport, and the deeply unconvincing Gordon Dewar's bluster about the rapacious cost of the same facility not at all to do with raising money.

 

[InOban]

Platforms 5&6 an hour ago. Still work to be done.



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[Waverleystu]

Shouldn’t be long now until the platforms are finished and receiving services. Any word on a start date yet?

 

[385001]

Definitely doesn’t look too far away from completion now.