A 1.2km long twin-bore tunnel under Edinburgh’s airport runway and the River Almond has been announced as part of the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link (EARL). The scheme has been described as “the most exciting transport project in Scotland”.
UK consultants, Scott Wilson and Halcrow were awarded the engineering contract by Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE) to design the rail link that includes a new station underneath the existing airport terminal building.
The tunnel is part of a US$924M project to create a new route from Edinburgh airport to the Glasgow-Fife and Glasgow-Edinburgh mainlines, giving direct services to the airport from all over Scotland and the north of England. This follows the identification in 2002 by the Scottish Executive that rail links to Glasgow and Edinburgh airports were key priorities. By 2003 preferred options for each had been announced and funding committed for further development work, which is the current stage.
The engineering contract is worth US$2.2M and is being funded by the Scottish Executive and Edinburgh airport owner, the British Airports Authority (BAA). The feasibility and design work will be used to develop a Private Bill to obtain Parliamentary Powers for the construction and operation stages of the link.
It is hoped that the contract could then be let for construction by Q2 2006. Richard Jeffrey, managing director of Edinburgh airport, said progress towards construction of the rail link was important for an integrated transport policy.
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Map showing the planned tunnel under Edinburgh airport which will link to mainline services
