The
line


between
Glasgow
Central
and
East
Kilbride
has
reopened
after
work
on
a
£143
million
scheme
to
electrify
the
railway,
which
has
also
gained
a
rebuilt
station.

Hairmyres
station,
costing
£16
million,
opened
with
the
rest
of
the
line
with
the
start
of
summer
timetables
on
Sunday.
It
is
600m
west
of
its
old
site,
and
convenient
for
Hairmyres
Hospital.

It
also
has
a
new
£7.2
million
transport
interchange
which
was
built
in
partnership
with
South
Lanarkshire
Council
and
Strathclyde
Partnership
for
Transport.
The
interchange
includes
500
park
and
ride
spaces
and
bus
stops.

The
16-week
closure
allowed
Network
Rail
to
complete
other
work
including
laying
new
track,
upgrading
signalling
and
installing
22km
of
overheard
power
lines
in
preparation
for
electrification.
New
footbridges
have
been
provided
at
Busby,
Clarkston
and
Giffnock
stations,
while
the
railway
bridge
over
East
Kilbride
Road
in
Busby
was
also
renewed.

Transport
secretary
Fiona
Hyslop
said:
‘It
is
a
pleasure
to
witness
years
of
planning
and
project
delivery
come
to
fruition
with
the
opening
of
the
new
Hairmyres
station.
It
is
a
clear
example
of
this
Scottish
Government’s
continued
commitment
to
investing
in
Scotland’s
railway
and
the
benefits
that
this
can
bring
to
local
communities.

‘Making
rail
more
attractive
is
a
fundamental
part
of
encouraging
greater
public
transport
use
and
this
latest
opening
is
an
exciting
milestone
as
we
move
towards
the
completion
of
the
East
Kilbride
electrification
later
this
year.’