New East Linton Station - Progress & Updates

[ScottDarg]

A press release was put out by Network Rail Scotland this morning advising that a planning application has been submitted to East Lothian Council for the planned station at East Linton on the ECML.

Link and quoted text: https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/east-linton-station-planning-application-submitted

East Linton station planning application submitted​

Region & Route: Scotland’s Railway: Scotland
Network Rail has submitted a planning application to East Lothian Council for a new railway station in East Linton.

The planning application is the next step in the process that, if approved by the council, will see construction of a new station on the east coast main line.

The proposal is for a two-platform station that can accommodate six carriage trains, with step-free access via a footbridge with lifts and parking for 126 cars.

The new station will encourage a reduction in road travel, promote greener travel choices and provide additional connectivity to and from Edinburgh.

Michael Matheson, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, said: “The Scottish Government is committed to improving the economic well-being of communities, encouraging the choice of sustainable transport and providing good quality employment opportunities across Scotland as we plan for our post-Covid recovery. That is why we have committed funding for this scheme which has real potential to deliver a number of benefits for the communities it would serve.

“I welcome the submission of this planning application which acts as a key milestone in the delivery process and enables us to progress our aspirations for the new station to the next stage.”

Alex Hynes, managing director of Scotland’s Railway, said: “We are working hard to improve rail links for communities across Scotland and this new station will help open up opportunities for new passengers on our network.

“The local community has been campaigning for a new train station at East Linton for many years and we are pleased that we have been able to work with local and central government to develop plans for this new facility.

“We now look forward to hearing people’s thoughts on the proposals and working with them to make this new station a reality.”

You can find out more about the East Linton station proposal by visiting scotlandsrailway.com/projects

Further information on the Scotlands Railway project hub - including a video render and design documents: https://scotlandsrailway.com/projects/east-linton-station

NOTE: This was released at the same time as the Reston station press release, however I have created 2 separate threads as they're 2 different projects. The Reston thread is here: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/new-reston-station-progress-updates.212306/

 

[waverley47]

I remember doing a study for this twelve odd years ago and recommending it be built. Good to see progress at last.

 

[92002]

Guess a lot depends on whether there is a reasonable amount of passengers on offer to attract an operator. Paths on the ECML are currently at a premium so the obvious solution would be LNER who have an hourly non stop service from Newcastle to Edinburgh to pick up the call. However the sums need to add up to attract an operator.

 

[InOban]

I think that the platforms at East Linton are shorter than Reston so intended for trains terminating at Dunbar.

 

[ScottDarg]

I think that the platforms at East Linton are shorter than Reston so intended for trains terminating at Dunbar.

Platforms at East Linton are designed to accommodate 6-car trains vs 10 car at Reston.

 

[cornishjohn]

I remember doing a study for this twelve odd years ago and recommending it be built. Good to see progress at last.

So where do the expected passengers come from? East Linton is not so big, and there are no decent roads directly into the hills. Most villages up there are already nearer Dunbar or Wallyford or Longniddry.

 

[waverley47]

The general thinking was that access wasn't that great to Drem or Dunbar, and that the car parks were both small. If you open a station between them, in what is quite a large gap, which so happens to serve East Linton it works out nicely.

You get to serve a reasonably wealthy, not insignificant town and the hinterland much more easily, open up new space for commuting, and build a big car park for all the 4x4s. This gives new links and new travel opportunities, and it's not even that hard to timetable.

You also free up space at Drem and Dunbar for people who live nearby, as some people now drive to the closer station at East Linton. New traffic at the new station as well as new traffic at the existing stations to replace that which is lost.

Basically it works out as a nice accounting sum where any abstracted revenue from existing stations is cancelled out, and the number of new tickets just about cancels out the cost of running the station, so it gets built.

 

[cornishjohn]

--- and build a big car park for all the 4x4s.

I can see the flaw in this plan implementation then.

 

[geoffk]

Paths on the ECML are currently at a premium.

Perhaps the new post-franchising regime will decide that four fast trains an hour between Newcastle and Edinburgh (pre-Covid timetable) are not required, nor for that matter six an hour between Newcastle and York.

 

[Kingston Dan]

So where do the expected passengers come from? East Linton is not so big, and there are no decent roads directly into the hills. Most villages up there are already nearer Dunbar or Wallyford or Longniddry.

1,700 in the village - about half the population of Dunbar until the 1980s. Dunbar is now well over 8,000. I'd expect some pretty quick growth with a frequent service taking you to the centre of Edinburgh in 30 minutes.

 

[waverley47]

I can see the flaw in this plan implementation then.

Yeah, its basically so that Drem and East Linton can both serve as park and ride stations to save cluttering up the roads in East Lothian.

And the current thinking is turning the Dunbar terminator to hourly so that should help with attracting more commuters. At the moment that path can be thought of as unused dead in the hours that it doesn't run, provided that the Dunbar train runs after any expresses that stop to save clogging the up platform.

 

[cornishjohn]

Yeah, its basically so that Drem and East Linton can both serve as park and ride stations to save cluttering up the roads in East Lothian.

And the current thinking is turning the Dunbar terminator to hourly so that should help with attracting more commuters. At the moment that path can be thought of as unused dead in the hours that it doesn't run, provided that the Dunbar train runs after any expresses that stop to save clogging the up platform.

For a park and ride they seem to be planning a rather small car park in my opinion. Is your study something the general public can read? It sounds quite interesting.

 

[kylemore]

Having seen the CGI images I have to say what an eyesore with these enormous lift towers.

Surely a wee underpass with gently inclined paths up to the platforms would have been cheaper and less in your face.

At least the Victorians would have "Gothicked" them up a bit!

 

[swt_passenger]

Having seen the CGI images I have to say what an eyesore with these enormous lift towers.

Surely a wee underpass with gently inclined paths up to the platforms would have been cheaper and less in your face.

At least the Victorians would have "Gothicked" them up a bit!

The Reston station thread recently had a discussion about why ramps and an underpass would not be acceptable. Basically if the required ramp exceeds certain dimensions current standards require a lift as well...

New Reston Station - Progress & Updates

A press release was put out by Network Rail Scotland this morning advising that a planning application has been submitted to Scottish Borders Council for the planned station at Reston on the ECML. Link and quoted text...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[eoff]

Yeah, its basically so that Drem and East Linton can both serve as park and ride stations to save cluttering up the roads in East Lothian.

And the current thinking is turning the Dunbar terminator to hourly so that should help with attracting more commuters. At the moment that path can be thought of as unused dead in the hours that it doesn't run, provided that the Dunbar train runs after any expresses that stop to save clogging the up platform.

I thought that Dunbar allowed passing traffic?

 

[waverley47]

I thought that Dunbar allowed passing traffic?

In one direction only. Wells in both directions, but in the down direction it's a poor use of paths.

The loop on the up side allows for any train more than five minutes ahead (one and a bit theoretical paths) to be looped in the platform, and the train behind to overtake. Overall, a train looped in the up direction site for six minutes or so before being allowed to exit the loop.

In the down direction, the act of crossing the down line into the loop uses half a down path, and eats into the reoccupation time of the up line. The crossovers are slow, and there is a good 500m of wrong line running between the loop and the crossovers. So unless the timings are perfect, theoretically a train being looped in the down direction uses two up paths.

I probably haven't explained very well, but basically looping in the down direction is a poor use of down paths and is quite slow anyway. This works fine at the moment where only six trains per day call at Dunbar northbound, but with a theoretical 1tph doing this, it eats into the theoretical southbound paths.

The path being unused in the hours it doesn't run is due to the Dunbar terminator leaving Edinburgh one path before any southbound trains that call at Dunbar would leave (but don't, because those trains don't run, and these are only hypothetical paths. I'll draw a diagram to explain it).

 

[InOban]

Down through trains don't use the loop any longer - they've built a platform on the Down fast. They may well build platform on the up main also. They could even build a bay platform if they wish to terminate more trains.

 

[waverley47]

Down through trains don't use the loop any longer - they've built a platform on the Down fast. They may well build platform on the up main also. They could even build a bay platform if they wish to terminate more trains.

Yes but looping using Dunbar station requires using the existing down platform. It's arguable whether up trains need to be looped at Dunbar anyway, but looping and overtaking would require use of the current down platform loop in both directions, which eats capacity

EDIT: forgot which direction is up/down

 

[Alanko]

Having seen the CGI images I have to say what an eyesore with these enormous lift towers.

Surely a wee underpass with gently inclined paths up to the platforms would have been cheaper and less in your face.

At least the Victorians would have "Gothicked" them up a bit!

This is what they built at Kintor and Robroyston, so it must work. New-build stations that meet all the necessary accessibility criteria but with zero aesthetic elements to the design. Purely functional assets, not places to spend any time in and around.

 

[och aye]

This is what they built at Kintor and Robroyston, so it must work. New-build stations that meet all the necessary accessibility criteria but with zero aesthetic elements to the design. Purely functional assets, not places to spend any time in and around.

Essentially copy & paste.

 

[mellon95]

What are people's hunches as to services/frequency calling at East Linton? Will the Dunbar terminator be increased to hourly or might LNER/XC services also call here?

 

[InOban]

The first post on this page has a link to the NR media pages. (You need to go back to 14 Dec ) . It's designed for 6 coach trains, so not LNER although XC would usually be OK. Reston has full-length platforms.

 

[mellon95]

The first post on this page has a link to the NR media pages. (You need to go back to 14 Dec ) . It's designed for 6 coach trains, so not LNER although XC would usually be OK. Reston has full-length platforms.

Thanks. I guess I'm curious about the feasibility of making the Dunbar terminator hourly and if current paths would support that as there seemed to be some disagreement about that above.

 

[waverley47]

What are people's hunches as to services/frequency calling at East Linton? Will the Dunbar terminator be increased to hourly or might LNER/XC services also call here?

All depends on Dunbar, and how that is served in the medium term. East Linton is a lot smaller than Dunbar, and if the current situation at Dunbar continues (a roughly hourly mix of the four different operators) then none of the long distance TOCs are going to want to stop trains at East Linton as well.

The plan is to shuffle Dunbar onto more of a semi fast service plan than the current situation, which is an odd mix of fasts and stoppers. The eventual plan is an hourly service to Berwick run by ScotRail, taking up the local stops. This is pretty easily stopped at East Linton, and even then the platform being 6*23m precludes any longer trains stopping there (yes I am aware that SDO exists but no-one wants a 9 car train parked on the main line to facilitate this). Paths all permit this, as the Dunbar stopper path is unused in the hours it doesn't run.

LNER have made moves to speed up the fast hourly to Edinburgh, which is what currently makes their stops, although the second Edinburgh may continue to call sporadically. XC and TPE both could serve Dunbar, although it remains to be seen the state of these north of Newcastle post-covid. XC indeed already makes sporadic stops, although like LNER there isn't a set formula for either of these.

The current Dunbar stopper is going hourly, at least after the junction renewal at Craigentinny (should be an announcement early next year). This is why Dunbar matters; if Dunbar moves to an hourly ScotRail service, then it's easy to timetable in an East Linton stop. If not, then we'll likely see a reluctance of the big operators to serve both Dunbar and East Linton every other hour, and the new station gets stuck with 1tp2h ScotRail stopper.

In short, we shall have to wait until the announcement of the Dunbar stopper going hourly for confirmation, but this is the most likely outcome.

 

[ScottDarg]

East Lothian Council have granted planning consent for the new station for East Linton.

Network Rail have posted a press release:

Planning consent received for East Linton station development

East Lothian Council's planning committee has approved proposals which will see a station open in the village of East Linton for the first time in more than half a century.

The plans for East Linton will see the construction of a two-platform station on the East Coast mainline, with 126 car parking spaces. The station itself will be fully accessible with lifts and a footbridge connecting both platforms.

The planning application was submitted back in December 2020 following extensive engagement with the community – necessarily online due to COVID-19 restrictions – and local campaigners who have pushed for the return of the station for more than two decades.

The new station will support economic growth by providing a connection into Edinburgh Waverley, offering an excellent new link to public transport and enabling residents from the area to access and expanded range of employment, education and leisure opportunities.

It is generally the case that station projects act as a catalyst for further investment and economic development in local areas. It is hoped that the construction of the new East Linton station will help support investment in the local community and further afield and will enhance and open-up transport links and improve connectivity.

Transport Minister Graeme Dey said:

“I welcome this announcement which is another significant step towards delivery of this important new station and will bring new travel opportunities to East Linton and the surrounding area.

“The Scottish Government has committed funding for this scheme which will have real potential to deliver a number of benefits for the local communities, including those who live in the village and commute into Edinburgh, and it will also help towards supporting our green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Alex Hynes, managing director of Scotland’s Railway said: "We are delighted that East Lothian Council has agreed that this project can progress. It is an exciting development that has the potential to transform the local community it will serve.

“Now that we have clarity on the planning decision, we will move to get onsite as quickly as possible and work with our partners to deliver this new station for our customers and the wider East Linton community."

Councillor Norman Hampshire, East Lothian Council’s Environment spokesperson, said: “The approval of the East Linton Station planning application is a vital step towards the reopening of this station and I look forward to seeing the works progress rapidly.

“The Council is very supportive of the station project as it will deliver significant benefits to East Lothian by providing easy local access to the east coast mainline services. This will in turn make this area more attractive for inward investment which will support local communities and the economy.”

A station opened in the village of East Linton in 1846 but the last passenger services stopped in 1964.

Notes to Editors​

The plans for the new station at East Linton propose;

• Two new 164m long, 4m wide station platforms and associated furniture (waiting shelters, seating and ticket machines).
• A new footbridge will cross the railway, incorporating lift shafts and stairs on either side.
• Lighting columns throughout the site and associated infrastructure/ equipment including CCTV
• Car park, bus stop with shelter and a drop-off space.

The car park would provide an initial 126 parking spaces including blue badge priority parking and 18 electric vehicle charging. We will build in capacity to add further electric vehicle charging points when required.
Cycle storage facilities will be provided.

We are currently awaiting a final construction programme for the project and will announce an intended completion date for the project as soon as possible

Transport Scotland is working with the industry to discuss and agree a service/stopping pattern at the station. This will be confirmed later in the year.

Planning consent received for East Linton station development

East Lothian Council's planning committee has approved proposals which will see a station open in the village of East Linton for the first time in more than half a century.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

Link to the planning documents: https://pa.eastlothian.gov.uk/onlin...ils.do?keyVal=QLJ143GNMKC00&activeTab=summary

 

[Mollman]

https://www.eastlothiancourier.com/news/19564588.fears-new-east-linton-train-station-white-elephant/

Fears new East Linton train station could be a 'white elephant'​

By Marie Sharp

(2)

1 comment


Fears that a new railway station will become a white elephant have been raised as councillors gave it the go ahead despite not knowing how many trains would use it.
Questions about the service which would be provided from the station went unanswered as councillors were asked to approve plans for East Linton train station.
And concerns were also raised that the tannoy system on the raised platform would be “heard all across the village”.
Network Rail told a meeting of East Lothian Council’s planning committee today that the new station was an “exciting” project which would be “designed to be sympathetic” to its surroundings.

The rail firm’s lead town planner Nicola Slaven said: “It will support local communities and the economy, creating a fully accessible station for all.”
However, she was unable to say how many trains would serve the station on a daily basis when asked by ward councillor Sue Kempson, adding that decision was taken by Transport Scotland.

Councillor Sue Kempson said: “The number of stopping trains will be absolutely critical.
“I think East Linton stands to lose more than it gains from this train station.”

Councillor Lachlan Bruce highlighted Reston Railway Station, which is being built in the Borders and has been revealed to be only being used for some cross-border trains.
He said: “We have to ensure this does not become a white elephant. I am disappointed Transport Scotland are not here (at the meeting), I think Reston is getting four trains a day.”
East Linton Railway Station has been 10 years in the planning and Ms Slaven told the committee that, once planning permission was granted work, would begin building the station “as soon as possible”.
Funding for new stations at East Linton and Reston was approved at the same time and Reston is due to open next year.
The new East Linton station will have 126 car parking spaces with 20 for electric vehicles and plans to future proof the car park for more electric vehicles are included.
It will have a footbridge between the platforms linked together with lift towers to make it accessible to all.

Transport Scotland has been asked to comment on the concerns raised and plans for future services.

Following a site visit to the new station area, planning convenor Norman Hampshire also raised concerns about the public address system.

He pointed out that the platform would be six metres high and a speaker would normally be another three metres above that.

He said: “Everyone in the village will be able to hear announcements.”

Planners agreed to ask for a noise report to be approved as part of planning conditions to address the concerns.

 

[hibtastic]

Great news that the station has been approved. I was brought up in East Linton and folks there have been campaigning for years for the station to reopen. I just hope that the future train service is an hourly service to Edinburgh (whether by Scotrail or TPE) rather than the meagre 5 trains a day Reston is getting.

Do Scotrail have enough 385s to cover an hourly Dunbar service for example or would they need additional stock?

 

[Starmill]

Great news that the station has been approved. I was brought up in East Linton and folks there have been campaigning for years for the station to reopen. I just hope that the future train service is an hourly service to Edinburgh (whether by Scotrail or TPE) rather than the meagre 5 trains a day Reston is getting.

Do Scotrail have enough 385s to cover an hourly Dunbar service for example or would they need additional stock?

Even if there's enough rolling stock to be found, is there really going to be funding for the additional driver and conductor diagrams necessary, and increase in train maintenance, to increase the number of Dunbar services? Bear in mind that train conductors have been taking industrial action almost all of this year because their view is that they aren't paid a big enough premium rate for overtime, and that drivers are quite likely to be taking industrial action because they're not being offered any 2021 pay rise.

 

[hibtastic]

Presumably since the station is being part funded by the ELC and the Scottish Government, there will be some sort of incentive for Transport Scotland to push for a regular rail service. It will be interesting to see what is proposed.

 

[Starmill]

Presumably since the station is being part funded by the ELC and the Scottish Government, there will be some sort of incentive for Transport Scotland to push for a regular rail service. It will be interesting to see what is proposed.

The same thing could have been said about Reston, but for a long time there was uncertainty about how it could be served, and now there's a very infrequent proposed service.