Vandals cause £60k damage at railway station building site

VANDALS have caused up to £60,000 worth of damage after breaking into an under-construction railway station.

Vehicles and machinery were damaged by the vandals. Picture: Andrew O'Brien

British Transport Police (BTP) said Edinburgh Gateway station in Gogar suffered “extensive damage” when it was targeted between 7.30pm and 9pm on Saturday.

Vehicles, construction machinery and buildings at the station were among the items damaged in the rampage.

Graffiti was also daubed all over the site and windows were smashed.

BTP revealed the cost of the damage at the station has been estimated at £45,000 to £60,000.

Officers are appealing for anyone with information about the incident to contact them.

Inspector Lindsay Clarkson said: “The station was broken into on Saturday night and extensive damage was caused to vehicles, machinery and the buildings in the station. 
Windows were also smashed and graffiti daubed all over.

“BTP takes criminal damage the rail network extremely seriously.

“It is nothing more than selfish vandalism that makes people fearful of their surroundings and costs the railway industry thousands of pounds to clean up.

“Unfortunately, the costs associated with the clear-up and fixing the damage caused are ultimately covered by the fare-paying passenger, which is not acceptable.

“I would like to appeal to anyone with any information about this incident to come forward.

“I am certain that someone out there may know something that would help us catch the person or people responsible, and I would very much like to hear from them. Any information provided will be treated in the strictest of confidence.”

Work began in April on the £41 million Edinburgh Gateway station, which will serve as an interchange between trains and trams.

It is scheduled for completion in December and will allow passengers from the north and Fife to access the airport and tram network. The project is part of the major Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme and is being built by Balfour Beatty and Lakesmere.

The interchange will boast two 265-metre platforms able to handle ten-car trains.

It will also include connections to the Gyle shopping centre, via a new underpass, along with upgrades at the Gogar roundabout.

The station is designed to provide a secure covered area for parking of 100 cycles and cycle lockers next to the station building, which will be monitored by CCTV.

Just last month engineers passed a milestone in the delivery of the interchange after the link bridge between the train and tram stations was installed. It was completed by a 500-tonne crane lifting the final sections of the station structure and the 40-tonne main bridge into position.

Any witnesses or anyone with information is being asked to contact the police on freephone 0800 40 50 40 or text 61016 quoting reference 577 of 11/6.

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