First Minister Says Edinburgh-Glasgow Train Upgrades "Ahead of Schedule"

Work to reduce journey times and increase frequency of the railway service between Glasgow and Edinburgh is ahead of schedule and key design contracts will be signed next month, Glasgow's Eleventh State of the City Economy Conference was told yesterday.

First Minister Alex Salmond confirmed that the timing of the design contracts would accelerate construction on the next stage of the Edinburgh - Glasgow Improvements Programme which is worth up to £1 billion to increase the rail capacity between Scotland's two main cities.

The design contracts are specified and funded by Transport Scotland as part of the Scottish Government working in partnership with Network Rail who will procure and manage the design contracts. They will cover electrification of the rail line and a programme of 22 different major infrastructure works.

The plans are in addition to the new £300 million electric railway between Glasgow and Edinburgh via Airdrie and Bathgate which the First Minster confirmed is under construction and on track to deliver four extra trains per hour between Scotland's two largest cities from December 2010. The upgraded service will also shave a few minutes off of journey times.

There are currently four trains an hour between Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Queen Street with train journey times taking 50 minutes.

Transport Scotland estimates 15 million rail users each year will benefit from improvements to the three rail routes via Falkirk, Shotts and Carstairs, as well as integration with the new Edinburgh Tram Project, rail links to Edinburgh Airport and improvements to services as far as Dunblane, Alloa and Cumbernauld.

"We are living in unprecedented and challenging economic times but the Scottish Government is committed to pulling together all our resources to the fullest extent to help protect our real economy - our households and high streets," said the First Minister.

"This includes continued investment in our roads and railways. We must ensure we have a modern, quick and efficient transport system ready and able to deal with maximum economic activity. The Glasgow to Edinburgh train service is one of our busiest and these improvements, alongside the M74 completion, will create more economic opportunities for Glasgow, its businesses and residents."