Improvements to Edinburgh Waverley station, which will give passengers more train services, improved punctuality and better access, came another step closer on 4 October as the next phase in the £150 million redevelopment was unveiled.

The massive improvement project includes creating two new through platforms at the station, extensive track remodelling, new signals and user-friendly entrances.  This will allow four more trains per hour to pass through Waverley in each direction, and will reduce congestion and overcrowding for passengers.

To allow the work to be completed, from 27 December 2006 several platforms at Waverley Station will be closed at various times, along with part of the lines running between Waverley and Haymarket stations.

A limited number of Fife Circle, one Stirling and one Carnoustie service will terminate at Haymarket rather than continuing through to Waverley. Customers on these trains will disembark at Haymarket, change platform and board the next train bound for Waverley. Passengers will be able to transfer to a Waverley service within five to seven minutes, and the final journey time from Haymarket to Waverley will be approximately three minutes. There will be additional timetable changes affecting some North Berwick, Newcraighall-Bathgate-Dunblane and West Calder services.

To make these arrangements possible, five new platforms will come into use: four at Waverley and a new bay platform at Haymarket.  Special information guides will be available and extra staff will be on hand to help travellers. The work is expected to last until December 2007.

Malcolm Reed, Chief Executive of Transport Scotland, which is funding the redevelopment, said: "The number of trains using Waverley has increased by 50 per cent in the last 15 years with more than 500 trains a day travelling through the station. These works are vital to improving the rail network not only in Edinburgh but also in the rest of the country. They will allow us to introduce new rail services such as links to Edinburgh airport, Stirling to Alloa and Kincardine and Airdrie to Bathgate. In the meantime, everything possible will be done to help passengers during these changes. I am confident that in the long term, passengers will reap the long term benefits of these improvements."

David Simpson, Route Director at Network Rail, which is managing and delivering the project, said: "The redevelopment of Waverley station means that a few minutes will be added to some passengers' journeys while we carry out major infrastructure improvements.  A great deal of planning has been put into this; we have worked very hard with our industry partners to ensure that inconvenience is kept to an absolute minimum. We are proud to be carrying out this work and passenger benefits are at the heart of our commitment to delivering a world class railway in Scotland."

Mary Dickson, Managing Director of First ScotRail, said: “As always, our focus is on our customers. Robust arrangements are in place to keep passengers fully informed, and to ensure that any inconvenience is kept to a minimum during works which will ultimately make journeys easier by lessening congestion and increasing the number of services.”

Robert Samson, Passenger Focus, Passenger Link Manager said: “It is essential that during the redevelopment work passengers are kept informed about the disruption to services and timetable changes affecting their journey. We are pleased to note that the rail industry in Scotland is working together to co-ordinate the timetable changes and ensure that passengers have access to the information in plenty of time to inform their journey decisions.”