Edinburgh Waverley set for revamp to help ease demand at station

The architect firm behind the £16 billion expansion of Heathrow Airport is set to mastermind the long-term future of Edinburgh's Waverley Station.

Edinburgh based consultants, Arup, will lead a group of highly experienced professionals in shaping a Masterplan for Scotland’s second busiest station, which welcomes 20 million passengers a year.

This include architects Grimshaw, the company in charge of building the third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport while also taking the lead in the refurbishment at London Bridge Station and designing a new terminal one at New York City’s Newark Airport.

Commuter numbers alone are expected to rise by 114 per cent between 2012 and 2043.

Internationally recognised engineers, architects and urban planners have been appointed to help shape the long term future of Edinburghs Waverley Station.

Owner and manager Network Rail will lead a group with the city council to investigate what impact this will have on the station and surrounding streets.

It will draw up short, medium and long-term plans with fellow group members Transport Scotland, VisitScotland, Scottish Enterprise, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce and neighbouring building owners.

Alex Hynes, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance, said: “Such a steep increase [in passenger numbers] is a positive indicator of the railway’s economic influence on the city and a clear sign that further investment will be required.

“We are creating additional rail provision within Waverley at present and will continue to seek new ways to create the best railway that Scotland has ever had.

“The Waverley Masterplan will help us to coordinate our approach and to tackle some of the issues that an increasingly busy Waverley Station raises.”

The Waverley Masterplan follows in the footsteps of other successful joint initiatives undertaken in other major city centre stations including Kings Cross/St. Pancras, Leeds and Birmingham New Street.

Edinburgh-based firm Allan Murray Architects will join Grimshaw following its award-winning Boroughmuir High School design. Real estate experts JLL, cost consultants Gardiner and Theobald, heritage professionals Jura Consultants, and consultation specialists Streets UK will also be part of the team.

Cllr Lesley Macinnes, convener of the transport and environment committee, said: “This Masterplan comes at a very significant time for the Capital as we work to create a city centre that truly has people at its heart.

“We will shortly be launching a major consultation on the Edinburgh City Centre Transformation, Low Emission Zones and City Mobility Plan, and this Waverley Masterplan forms an important part of that programme.”

The masterplan is separate to work to make more space for trains, with extensions to three platforms already underway.

Elliot Wishlade, project director for Arup said: “The Arup team is delighted to be working with the Masterplan steering group to create a vision and a plan which not only meets future travel needs but creates new and exciting facilities, spaces and infrastructure that will make this part of the city work better and be more enjoyable for everyone.

“We are looking forward to receiving inputs through the study from a wide variety of rail users, user groups, interested parties and the public.”