Plans for a new railway station in East Renfrewshire have now been approved.
A funding award of £18.3 million from the Glasgow City Region City Deal will see the new Balgray station built on the Neilston line near to Balgray reservoir.
Over the past few months, Network Rail and East Renfrewshire Council have been working with Transport Scotland, ScotRail and Story Contracting to plan and design the new station.
The station will have two platforms connected by a footbridge with lifts, as well as waiting shelters, cycle storage and ticket machines. There will also be an 80-space car park for passengers, with ten charging points for electric vehicles.
READ MORE: £300k project to enhance natural habitat near world-famous viaduct completed
Meanwhile, as part of the build, a direct path from the station to Dams to Darnley Country Park will be created, allowing easier access for visitors arriving for, and departing after, a day out.
Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet secretary for transport, said: “I welcome East Renfrewshire Council’s proposal to use City Deal funding to open a new station at Balgray. This is a great example of integrating new public transport provision with a new housing development. Transport Scotland will be funding the operating and maintenance costs of the station.
“The new station will provide sustainable transport options, better connecting people to employment, education, leisure and business opportunities. We welcome this innovative plan for the delivery of a new station and would encourage other promoters to consider this approach.”
Gerry McQuade, Capital Delivery Director for Network Rail, said: “A new railway station in this area of Barrhead will be transformative for people who don’t currently use the train, and will also provide a cleaner, greener way to visit the green space and countryside in East Renfrewshire.
“We will work hard with our partners to deliver this new station for our customers and the wider community.”
Owen O’Donnell, East Renfrewshire Council leader, said: "It's fantastic news that City Deal funding has been approved for the new Balgray station in Barrhead.
"Since announcing the new name for the station and how plans were progressing, we've had a great response from residents who are excited about the delivery of a much-needed new public transport link.
"It's going to make a huge difference for our existing community in Barrhead as well as for residents from the new housing developments, making it much easier to access jobs, education and services. It'll also make Dams to Darnley Country Park more accessible for visitors."
As part of the development of the new Balgray station, Network Rail submitted a prior approval planning request to East Renfrewshire Council in August.
Further information about the project is available at www.scotlandsrailway.com/projects/balgray-station
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel