7. ADDENDUM
Edinburgh Airport Rail Link ( EARL)
"On 27 September 2007, the Minister for Transport and Climate Change announced revised proposals for rail access to Edinburgh Airport. A new station will be provided on the Fife Railway line at Gogar. This will also be an interchange point for the Edinburgh Tram allowing access to the airport without the need to go to the centre of Edinburgh. A new linking route between Edinburgh and Glasgow and Fife lines (the Dalmeny Chord) will allow trains serving Glasgow and Dunblane to stop at the station. Those wishing to access the airport from Dunblane prior to the opening of the Dalmeny Chord and those using stations on the Airdrie to Bathgate line will be able to interchange with the tram at Edinburgh Park station."
(source - www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/national-planning/west-edinburgh)
The proposed EARL, as can be seen from the above, will now no longer be a transport initiative within the West Edinburgh Planning Framework ( WEPF) area. The Strategic Environmental Assessment of the WEPF has supported the suite of public transport initiatives aimed at discouraging the utilisation of private vehicles accessing the West Edinburgh locale by the general public.
The proposals to implement a new railway station at Gogar adjacent to the existing railway line, to integrate the new tram link into the new station and to connect the existing Dunblane and Glasgow/Edinburgh rail lines via a new section of rail track (Dalmeny Chord) all fulfil the aim of the SEA in improving public transport to the West Edinburgh area.
It should however be noted that the EARL Private Bill (the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link Act 2007) received Royal Assent on 19 th April 2007. Due to progression of the EARL through the Parliamentary process, the proposed line of the EARL may be "preserved" for a period of 10 years.