Trains took their first run on the new Airdrie-Bathgate Rail link on Sunday (December 12).
The final tracks of the line, which will carry passengers direct from Helensburgh and Milngavie, in the west, to Bathgate and Edinburgh in the east were laid in August and the first trains trundled along the track for the first time since the Fifties this weekend.
The £300m (that's at 2006 prices) link was funded by the Scottish Government, and re-establishes another direct link between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Ron McAulay, Network Rail Director Scotland, said: “Completing this line in just four years was a major engineering and project management challenge. To have delivered the railway on time and on budget is a testament to the skill and determination of our team."
“The line is expected to open up new educational and economic opportunities for those living on the line of route, widen the labour pool available to employers and also offer a greener alternative to the daily car commute on the M8.”
Weather disruption
Due to the continuing impact of the arctic conditions gripping the Central Belt, the link initially opened as a limited-stop service between Airdrie and Bathgate, via Blackridge.
The severe weather had left the access roads and platform surfaces at some of the intermediate stations on the route impassable, with up to three feet of snow standing at these locations in recent weeks.
The stations at Armadale, Caldercruix and Drumgelloch will be brought into use as soon as possible once the weather improves. A bus replacement service is being provided at these stations.
ScotRail said that the introductory timetable will have an hourly service from Helensburgh to Edinburgh via Bathgate and Airdrie on weekdays. There will also be four Edinburgh-Bathgate services during weekday peak times – double the current number.
Steve Montgomery, Managing Director of ScotRail, said: “I am delighted the new services are up and running across the route.
“It demonstrates the commitment and strength of industry partnerships in achieving significant improvements to the railway in Scotland. I am confident the new services will be a great success.”
More trains
The introductory timetable, which includes a direct half-hourly service from Helensburgh to Edinburgh at weekends, will be enhanced as more new Class 380 trains are introduced on Ayrshire, Inverclyde and Renfrewshire routes to and from Glasgow Central.
The new trains – the largest order of its kind in a decade – will allow Class 334 trains to move from these routes to the Glasgow to Edinburgh via Airdrie and Bathgate line.
The frequency will increase over time between Edinburgh and Glasgow Queen Street Low Level, with daytime trains every 15 minutes to be launched next spring.
The project has seen 15 miles of new track built to connect communities in West Lothian and North Lanarkshire. Bathgate and Drumgelloch stations have been rebuilt as part of the project, with Livingston North and Uphall stations having been upgraded.
Three new purpose-built stations have been constructed in Armadale, Blackridge and Caldercruix and 69 bridges along the line of route have either been upgraded or replaced.
Granted royal assent in 2006, more than 1,000 workers were on-site or servicing the worksites during the peak period of construction over the past 18 months and more than 4,500,000 man-hours have been worked on the project.
The longest new passenger line in Scotland for over a century, the rail link is expected to generate new opportunities and it is hoped will encourage motorists out of their cars, easing traffic on the M8.
The original railway between Airdrie and Bathgate closed to passenger trains in 1956 and to freight services in 1982.