HS2

Raising wall work at Linlithgow heritage railway site completed

Work has been completed to raise the height of walls bordering the railway heritage site at Royal Terrace and Union Road in Linlithgow, as part of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP).

A total of £650k has been put into the project to ensure the boundary of the railway is compliant with safety standards for an electrified railway, as well as to make sure the public were safe from overhead cables – something that has been praised by railway heritage groups and the local community.

The programme took six month to be completed by Network Rail, as engineers worked to raise the height of the listed Victorian boundary, which involved 160 tonnes of locally sourced Scotch Buff sandstone being moved into place to maintain the rustic aesthetic of the railway.

The experienced team of specialist stone masons made their way along each section of the wall for over 4,200 man hours, as the workers used their knowledge of heritage projects to construct the equivalent of 360m of new walls.

Network Rail route delivery director for infrastructure projects Kevin McClelland said that the company’s focus in raising the walls was to safeguard the public as the railway was transformed into an electrified network.

“It is important to ensure that every effort is made to protect the integrity of listed structures and conserve the character of historic railway environments,” said McClelland. “Initial feedback so far has been positive and indicates that what we have delivered what we set out to do.

“This element of the project provided us with a number of challenges given the location and the existing footprint of the railway.

“I have to commend the team in the way that they worked to innovate and overcome these challenges to deliver a sympathetic enhancement of the railway boundary in a conservation setting with the minimum of disruption to the local community.”

Andy Savage, executive director or the Railway Heritage Trust, reflected that the project had been an “excellent piece of work” by Network Rail.

“It shows what can be done where the approach is to conserve and build upon the historic railway environment and is sympathetic to the surrounding community,” he stated.

“The work is impressive in both concept and execution and it’s great to see such respect for the railway’s heritage while investing in its electric future.”

Have you got a story to tell? Would you like to become an RTM columnist? If so, click here.