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PE1080/B Our Ref : Amcc/MEP Your Ref: Date 20 November 2007

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PE1080/B Our Ref : Amcc/MEP Your Ref: Date 20 November 2007 PE1080/B Our Ref : AMcC/MEP Your Ref: Alex McCrorie Acting Chief Executive Date 20 November 2007 Mr Franck David Assistant Clerk to the Public Petitions Committee Tower 4, TG.01 The Scottish Parliament EDINBURGH EH99 1SP Dear Mr David Consideration of Petition PE1080 Thank you for your letter of 7 November 2007 inviting the Council’s response to the above petition. Having studied the petition and accompanying documentation and committee report, I would make the following comments. The Council has no objection to passenger services being reintroduced on to the Edinburgh South Suburban Railway (South Sub). However, for the reasons set out below, the Council would not support any proposal to link new services on the South Sub with those to North Berwick or the Edinburgh Crossrail service. As stated in the petition, the South Sub is not electrified so any extension of North Berwick services would result in these having to be operated with diesel rolling stock unless the South Sub is electrified. This is not acceptable to the Council as the electric Class 322 units which currently operate the North Berwick services have recently been refurbished and are proving to be reliable and well matched to the requirements of this service. In addition, the former Lothian Regional Council shared the cost of the electrification of the North Berwick branch with British Rail and the Council would not wish to see the under utilisation of this significant investment in public transport. The Council would also like to see all the current services on the North Berwick line run through from Waverley to Haymarket to provide easy access to the west end of the city centre. The proposal to run North Berwick services onto the South Sub would achieve this objective but, in the longer term, the Council would support the extension PE1080/B of the North Berwick services westwards to provide a true cross city service. It has been suggested that the North Berwick service could link up with the service on the Airdrie – Bathgate line when this reopens and this would meet the Council’s objectives. It would not wish to see this objective prejudiced by the diversion of North Berwick services on to the South Sub. Similarly, the suggestion that the current Crossrail service be diverted onto the South Sub is not acceptable to the Council. This service currently provides cross city access to the major employment centres on the west side of the city, providing an alternative to driving round the city bypass for residents of East Lothian as well as Edinburgh. This was the rationale behind the setting up of the Crossrail service. The petition is correct in its suggestion that the Council has an aspiration for a local rail service to Dunbar. This proposal was assessed in the recent East Coast Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) carried out by Network Rail but it did not perform well in economic terms. The findings of the RUS do not appear to be reflected in the suggestion to run trains from Newcraighall to Dunbar via the South Sub, Haymarket and Waverley. It is the view of the Council that the best option for reinstating services on the South Sub would be for a full circular service as this would provide the best travel options for the residents of the south side of the city. I trust these comments will be of assistance in considering this petition. Yours sincerely Alex McCrorie Acting Chief Executive cc P Collins Director of Environment .
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