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Ministers set to abandon £650m airport rail link plan

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Published Date:
25 September 2007
THE SNP Government is set to ditch plans for a direct rail link to Edinburgh Airport and tell travellers to take the tram instead.
Plans due to be unveiled later this week are expected to include a new station at Gogar, where passengers could switch from train to tram to get to the airport.

The ambitious £650m Edinburgh Airport Rail Link (EARL), which involved diverting both
the Edinburgh-Glasgow and Edinburgh-Fife lines and building a tunnel under the runway, will be scrapped.

The SNP fought the Holyrood elections earlier this year on a pledge to ditch both EARL and the trams, but it said it did want an alternative way of providing a rail link to the airport.

The Government was forced to accept defeat on the trams and allow the project to proceed. But MSPs agreed the EARL scheme needed to be reviewed.

And it is understood the Scottish Government's transport agency Transport Scotland has recommended to ministers that trains from the west and north should stop at a new station on the Edinburgh-Fife line near the Gogar roundabout. Trains from Glasgow and Dunblane could also be diverted via the station by using a link between Winchburgh and Dalmeny.

Passengers for the airport could get off and join the already approved tram line to the airport terminal. They would also have the opportunity to join the tram line - which begins at Newhaven - at Edinburgh Park.

The details of the scheme are expected to be confirmed when Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson makes a statement to the Scottish Parliament on Thursday.

However, despite the SNP's latest plans, opposition MSPs said the rail link plan was not necessarily dead. Tavish Scott, the Liberal Democrat who was transport minister before May's elections, reportedly said scrapping the rail link scheme would be a "huge error".

"Scotland's economy would benefit best from the project," he added. "Any other kind of proposal being dreamed up is more about getting the SNP out of a spending hole than in the strategic interests of Scotland."

His views are likely to be supported by Labour transport spokesman Charlie Gordon, who reportedly will be "questioning the minister closely on Thursday".

Labour group leader Cllr Ewan Aitken, who led the city council prior to May's elections, said both a rail and tram link were needed.

He said: "What we have to remember is this is not just Edinburgh's rail link to the airport, it's a rail link for the whole of Scotland. I've always believed that the trams would provide an excellent route to the airport but the rail link is between the airport and the rest of the country."



The full article contains 450 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 25 September 2007 12:01 PM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Edinburgh transport plans
 
1

Morag McBoots,

Brum - though Lasswade in spirit 25/09/2007 11:30:28

The new council is an absolute joke. They're missing out on an ideal opportunity to bring Edinburgh Airport in to the 21st century. Bloomin' eejits

2

David Harrington,

Edinburgh 25/09/2007 11:31:17

I think something like a Parry People Mover from the existing lines would have worked best. I find it almost laughable to suggest that existing trains are going to by diverted via the Dalmeny Chord - adding 15 minutes or so to existing journeys; it is just not going to happen.

3

alex paterson,

embra 25/09/2007 11:37:21

My mate is a mechanic at Edinburgh Airport the planes never leave on time anyway,not when hes finished with them.

4

Djsimpo,

Edinburgh 25/09/2007 11:38:38

I recently went on the train to Fife. It was the first time in years so I didn't realise that the damned thing went right past the end of the sodding runway.

Now I'm no transport planning expert, but why don't they just build a wee platform at the end of the runway and stop the train to let folk off? Problem solved - direct links from Waverly and Haymarket?

Even the useless Scottish Exec, couldn't waste much more than a couple of million squiddlies on this idea???

5

arthur braithwaite,

Edinburgh 25/09/2007 11:41:10

need a better rail link to airport.

6

eric,

Lothian 25/09/2007 11:41:29

Common sence at last ,The trams enough,End

7

David Tait,

Roseburn 25/09/2007 11:43:50

There is a lot of money involved, I would rather get the plans right regardless how long it would take.

8

Mallory,

25/09/2007 11:45:34

The present bus service from Edinburgh is first class - no need for anything else. Save the money and use it on schools, hospitals and affordable housing.

9

Porty Nat,

25/09/2007 11:46:04

Morag - this is a Scottish Gvt matter, not one for Edinburgh Council. But if you want to pay £650m plus to run smelly diesel trains through an enclosed, underground station, while risking runway collapse as you dig through boulder clay, then I'm afraid that you are the eejit.

10

Calum Crubag,

25/09/2007 11:46:06

If the trams go to the airport, then surely we don't need a train as well?

11

Martin 2,

Edinburgh 25/09/2007 11:51:35

The comments about "thick traffic in the centre" - I have used this bus on many occassions and 9 times out of 10 it gets you to and from the Airport in under 30 minutes. Given you need to be there sometimes a couple of hours in advance to check in - why does it matter if a train can get you there 10 minutes earlier?

Spending by governments are all about priorities and a tram and train to the airport cannot both be deemed priorities. £100m would link up the South Suburban to a Northern Loop in Edinburgh providing about 35 new passenger stations - this would cut the traffic in the city centre as it would really speed up cross-city jouneys -something a road based tram will never do.

12

raythebear,

25/09/2007 11:59:21

they are going to need the cash to cover the overspend on the trams anyway

13

Voice of reason,

25/09/2007 12:03:04

4 - and let folk walk down the runway to their planes . Or provide free bikes .

14

Voice of reason,

25/09/2007 12:04:41

If the trams go to the airport, then surely we don't need a train as well?

No , let's extend the trams to Fife , Stirling , etc etc .

15

Hambo,

25/09/2007 12:06:29

The CURRENT cost of EARL is £650 million before construction has even started. This idea would cost in the region of £10 million. Cost/benefit?
3 comments from the opposition, none from the government, good old Scotsman balanced reporting. And why 'reportedly said', find out if they said it!

16

Morag McBoots,

Brum - though Lasswade in spirit 25/09/2007 12:10:28

#9 - okay then.

The new government is an absolute joke...etc etc."

17

UriahHeep,

Edinburgh 25/09/2007 12:24:04

As usual they go for the dumbest option.
The point being missed by most the the above dimwits is to make the airport a transport hub with an integrated rail service to the whole of Scotland.

With the above idea the passengers "only" have to go to Gogar instead of Haymarket to get a train.
Big deal!!!
The idea should be have minimum changes of transport -it's already done all over Europe but as always Scotland has to be third rate in it's approach.

18

Djsimpo,

Edinburgh 25/09/2007 12:24:20

#13 - Think big glass elevated tubes (like you), with moving walkways - a hell of a lot cheaper than the trams or EARL projects?

19

Tepid Mouse,

Glasgow 25/09/2007 12:50:25

Post 8. Sensible words. If the present bus service is providing a good service from Edinburgh, then why spend millions of pounds on another service to the airport.

People from around Scotland do not enjoy having to travel to other airports but prefer to fly from their local point. i.e. Those in Aberdeen, Inverness or even Glasgow do not want to have to travel to Edinburgh to fly. Therefore, to say that this was a potential link for all of Scotland is clearly not accurate.

20

GraemeH,

Edinburgh 25/09/2007 12:53:01

Given the likely cost of EARL it would be cheaper to lay on a free taxi for every passenger arriving at waverley / haymarket from other parts of the country.

Oh, and 14 - there are already trains go to Fife and Stirling. Let's not waste more money.

21

Salvatori,

Embra 25/09/2007 12:55:35

A fleet of miniature ponies is the only solution. Save a few pence and better for the environment.

22

Leila,

25/09/2007 13:02:46

Could this be an attempt to get the Scottish Government to pay the whole cost of the Edinburgh tram project, thereby letting the council off their share?

23

I just thought....,

Edinburgh 25/09/2007 13:11:18

I thought the SNP were all for independence because Scotland is so prosperous on its own it doesn't need support from the rest of the UK, yet a scheme which would clearly benefit the whole of east coast of Scotland and no doubt improve the prosperity of the economy is knocked back. We need both the tram and the EARL!

24

dyon gollins's back,

trying to reach turnhouse 25/09/2007 13:12:03

This SNP administration is rubbish - a chance to do something really forward looking and innovative and what do they do - count the bawbees. Scotland needs this sort of far looking project and especially if the country is to compete effectively with other countries of similar size. Meanwhile the Belgians are just about to deliver a new connection from Zaventem airport to Flanders and the North by tunnelling under the runways there and of course it was done several years ago at Schiphol where the ground conditions are a good bit more difficult than at Turnhouse.
As ususal when it comes to trying a real opportunity for innovation the SNP - mimsers the lot of them - back away. Visions for Scotland - it's a joke! Try going to Heathrow on the Piccadily line stopping at all stations - that's what it'll be like on the trams and meanwhile Glasgow airport will have a rail link while the capital goes backwards!

25

Porty Nat,

25/09/2007 13:21:04

#16 - You could 'bring Edinburgh Airport into the 21st century' with a rail link for much less than £650m. Thankfully, thanks to our new government, it looks like that's what's now going to happen.

And #24 - Schipol has 7 runways, Edinburgh has only one, which means if there's any problems with the tunnel, Edinburgh has no airport. A big difference, I'm sure you'll agree!

I doubt very much that the tunnelling conditions in Amsterdam were worse. And the Dutch trains are electric - not the diesel locos which would be belching fumes all over the passengers inside your gin palace underground station. It's hard to be visionary when you're trying to rinse the specs of soot out of your eyes, after all...

Well done the SNP for having the savvy to stop this daft scheme and replace it with something better and cheaper.

26

JFW,

New Town 25/09/2007 13:27:29

Good bus links in place, lovely tram link pending, quick taxi-ride for those too posh to use public transport, not to mention that Edinburgh is a small-ish city with 3 other substantial airports within 100miles. Why would anyone in their right mind (other than BAA, who would benefit slightly) think we need to spend a minimum of 650million to put yet another link in place.

27

Happy Hibee,

25/09/2007 13:34:38

The one thing which is forgotten about when you comment about EARL was that it created a link between the Edinburgh Glasgow line and the Fife services.

Whilst the idea of an underground station and the cost involved can only be described as "strange", the linking of the lines is needed to allow improved rail services across Scotland and Fife.

#25

Edinburgh has two runways, but the funny thing is that the emergency (secondary) runway cannot be used in high wind !!

28

Agent 99,

25/09/2007 13:35:03

[8] Mallory; Well if that's your idea of first class its not surprising our transport system is in such a parlous state. Are you a politician, or perhaps a lothian transport shareholder?

[19] Tepid Mouse; hailing from Glasgow, have you actually tried the surface transport offering to Edinburgh airport?

You guys should get out a little more. Although the pompous "world class" aspirations of the promoters are to be ignored as froth, if you settle for a third world solution on this issue how long will it be before such impoverished standards apply across the board; not just in transport, but also in education, health and public life? Wait now, I see they already do.

Aim low, you canna fail that way.

29

Parking Permit,

Edinburgh 25/09/2007 13:35:44

A Bus link round the perimeter of the airport could take passengers to the Edinburgh Glasgow line and a new station could be opened at the back of the old RAF Turnhouse Buildings for those going North. In fact if BAA had been awake to the fact the RAF were pulling out they should have built the terminal on the site of the RAF station. It would have been right next to the rail line. It does NOT need £650 Million to sort this one.

30

dyon gollins's back,

trying to reach turnhouse 25/09/2007 13:37:12

Another Nat with not enough tunnel vision, Porty! Schiphol sits in the middle of the Harlemmermeer water table which is about the highest in Holland and yet the technical issues there were dealt with successfully - no reason why that could not be done at Turnhouse. However the example of Zaventem is equally if not even more instructive because the strategy is identical to that for EARL - much more direct connection potentially with the rest of Belgium, notable Flanders. Do you suppose the Flemish are complaining about that - not at all and why not? Because they know that the economic and social benefits are massive.

31

Hello,

UK 25/09/2007 13:44:49

Just think. Prestwick Airport has been rail connected for 13 years. Which airport will be Scotland's second rail connected airport? What about using Ratho station as a dedicated station for the airport? You could have dedicated buses running from the airport to the station.

32

Märiö äntoinette,

25/09/2007 13:50:55

Porty Nat , it's true - Schipol (2 metres or so beneath sea level, the only airport in the world below sea level I think) was once a Lake.

33

Sassenach Observer,

Edinburgh 25/09/2007 13:53:30

#30 Edinburgh is still going to be a pokey little regional airport with or without a rail link. The European hub airports are pretty much set in stone now. Most big airports have a distance between terminals which is bigger than the distance from a halt on the existing rail line to the existing terminal building. Like #29 I fail to understand why they just didnt abandon the old terminal for a new one on the old Turnhouse site.

34

Märiö äntoinette,

25/09/2007 13:54:35

It's the usual Dyon , people on here are more concerned about the disruption and the immediate cost and cannot see the long term benefits of a strong infrastructure.

35

Märiö äntoinette,

25/09/2007 13:55:51

If any of you are seriously interested get yourself down the parliament for 1st ministers question time.

I would if i could.

36

Sassenach Observer,

Edinburgh 25/09/2007 13:56:22

#31 Dundee ?

37

salidatious,

Edinburgh 25/09/2007 14:16:06

It's a bit of a joke really!
Recently been to Stockholm where they have a Heathrow/Gatwick/Stansted express type thing. Do we not want Edinburgh considered alongside these major cities.
What a shame that the SNP can't see the future properly!

38

Porty Nat,

25/09/2007 14:16:41

Dyon, Märiö - let's take it as a given that an airport rail link is a good idea. The point is that it could be delivered at a far lower cost, and with far less risk, than the scheme proposed currently. The only reason BAA agreed that the tunnel scheme could it go ahead at all was because the Government (i.e. you and I) agreed to give an unlimited indemnity in the event of a collapse.

The Brussels example is a false one. I've travelled to Brussells airport by rail, and - it's an electric train - not a diesel one which is spewing out fumes, soot and carbon monoxide into a confined space. Also, my map shows a spur line going to the airport terminal - not a tunnel under the main runway!

I dare say that Schipol is below sea level and with a high water table - but that's irrelevant to the situation at Turnhouse. For one thing, the North Sea is kept back by great big sea walls. There's nothing stopping the River Almond, and nothing can improve the poor quality of the earth that you'd be tunnelling through at Ingliston.

At the end of the day, the tunnel cheerleaders need to explain why we should pay £600m for a technically challenging rail project which threatens the operational capabilities of the airport dring construction, when with a surface link you could have the all same benefits and none of the risks for a fraction of the costs.

39

Porty Nat,

25/09/2007 14:17:45

Dyon, Märiö - let's take it as a given that an airport rail link is a good idea. The point is that it could be delivered at a far lower cost, and with far less risk, than the scheme proposed currently. The only reason BAA agreed that the tunnel scheme could it go ahead at all was because the Government (i.e. you and I) agreed to give an unlimited indemnity in the event of a collapse.

The Brussels example is a false one. I've travelled to Brussells airport by rail, and - it's an electric train - not a diesel one which is spewing out fumes, soot and carbon monoxide into a confined space. Also, my map shows a spur line going to the airport terminal - not a tunnel under the main runway!

I dare say that Schipol is below sea level and with a high water table - but that's irrelevant to the situation at Turnhouse. For one thing, the North Sea is kept back by great big sea walls. There's nothing stopping the River Almond, and nothing can improve the poor quality of the earth that you'd be tunnelling through at Ingliston.

At the end of the day, the tunnel cheerleaders need to explain why we should pay £600m for a technically challenging rail project which threatens the operational capabilities of the airport dring construction, when with a surface link you could have the all same benefits and none of the risks for a fraction of the costs.

40

pop,

west lothian 25/09/2007 14:26:38

fancy new buses on the 100 service but they can get bogged down on the cortorphine road and the locals use them as a local service slowing you up if you are trying to catch a flight......whats that all about ? aren't there enough 26s..i think a rethink on airport transport is needed....i wonder what will happen to the bus service when the trams kick in ?

41

Märiö äntoinette,

25/09/2007 14:31:06

I agree Nat , no problem with that. What I would like to see is a bloody good reason why there cannot be a station at RAF turnhouse.

If course , that might involve the Scotsman or the Een actually doing some work so I wont hold my breath.

Only one thing , don't pretend that we have some kind of magical soil underneath the airport , modern engineering is wonderful and can accomplish many things.

In an ideal world we wouldnt be worrying about this but on a public level it seems scotland simply doesnt have enough money for infrastructure projects.

42

H C Andersen,

Somewhere on the Fife Circle 25/09/2007 14:33:54

Divert trains via Winchburgh and Dalmeny! Another excuse for First Scotrail not to increase services on the Fife Circle and to the north.Capacity,capacity,capacity!

43

Porty Nat,

25/09/2007 14:48:00

I'm not trying to pretend the soil is magical, Märiö :-) My understanding is that the conditions are perhaps less than ideal for a tunnel. Not impossible by any means, but made trickier still by the fact that the tunnel would be very long and go under a live runway.

I don't think there's any doubt that the money is there to build the tunnel if we want. I'd just rather spend on other projects what we could save by going for a cheaper option. The 'opportunity cost', as the economists would describe it.

For my money, a Turnhouse station wouldn't have been a bad option, providing you also had moving walkways - it's a bit of a hike from Turnhouse to the terminal.

44

Brad,

Glasgow 25/09/2007 15:00:59

Isn't the proposed Gogar station pretty near Turnhouse and serving the same purpose as you propose?

Gogar will also be on the tram route and handy for the planned development of West Edinburgh.

45

Graham,

25/09/2007 15:07:07

What would be the point of diverting trains from Glasgow Queen Street and Dunblane to go via Gogar? The tram line will connect with the existing station at Edinburgh Park. Either the SNP Government are a bunch of numpties with no idea of the geography of the ccity they govern from or else Adam Morris invented that bit, and it seemed plausible to him because he is a numpty with no idea of the geography of the city his paper covers.

46

Märiö äntoinette,

25/09/2007 15:14:30

I'd go for turnhouse and little raised monorail to the terminal like frankfurt airport - if the soil is magical maybe some giant beanstalks.

47

Biker,

Ayr 25/09/2007 15:18:10

It makes sence to have a rail link at the Airport and the job should have been done during the last building project. As stated above the railway runs past the end of the runway so what is the problem? Glasgow Airport suffers from the same problem and it is a bit galling to travel halfway around the world and then have to queue for a sodding bus.
Its time both of these airports were driven into the 21st century.
The system at Prestwick is well used and I believe runs at a profit.

48

dyon gollins's back,

trying to reach turnhouse 25/09/2007 15:28:27

Can you read Porty or are you another of the Nat illiterati? - Zaventem is to develop a NEW under runway link with Flanders - precisely what is proposed in EARL. Also the point about Schiphol and the ground water conditions is that they are not caused by the sea but by the fresh water table so if it can be done there it can certainly be done at Turnhouse.
I agree with you about the traction systems, by the way, and it is high time that the railways at least in the central belt of Scotland were all electrified. That doesn't answer the point though about the very narrow and restricted vision of the SNP administration on this issue!

49

Hambo,

25/09/2007 15:32:06

"As stated above the railway runs past the end of the runway so what is the problem?"

It runs next to the runway but not next to the terminal.
It has been said that it would be cheaper to move the terminal to the railway than have the EARL scheme.

50

D Napier,

25/09/2007 15:50:06

This is madness. If the SNP wants Scotland to be taken seriously on the worls stage then we MUST have world class transport facilities at the capital city's airport.

The Edinburgh Airport Rail Link MUST be built NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

51

Porty Nat,

25/09/2007 15:59:59

49 - "Can you read Porty or are you another of the Nat illiterati?"

Very good, Dyon. I noticed my mistake after I'd posted, but by that time it was too late to change it.

Your analogies are still spurious, though. There is more than one operational runway at Brussels, so one runway closing for any reason isn't going to bring the airport to a close, which is manifestly not the case with Edinburgh.

The water table at Schipol has nothing to do with anything, since that's unlikely to be the problem tunnelers face at Edinburgh. It's the soil that is said to be the problem. And even then, a seven runway airport going down to six would have been a lot easier to deal with than a one runway airport going down to zero runways. The circumstances are entirely different.

I don't know what part of "it's far more expensive than it needs to be and carries a lot of risk" it is that you can't seem to get your head round. FFS, why would any sane or rational person want to spend £650m on what could be delivered for under £100m?

52

I'm no really here,

25/09/2007 16:04:13

They are getting rid of it because it's planning, costing and control were hang-overs from Labour - i.e. an abortion. Scrap it and look at new ideas: extending, upgrading existing services.

The TRAM is supposed to go out there too isn't it

EDINBURGH AIRPORT RAIL LINK MUST NOT BE BUILT IN IT'S CURRENT FORM.

53

Mallory,

25/09/2007 16:11:14

#28

I frequently used the bus link to Edinburgh Airport. Compared to many other city centre airport runs it is quick, cheap, friendly and rarely overcrowded.

Perhaps you should try Gatwick / Victoria or travelling onwards from the more obscure European budget destinations.

How long is this promised tram journey going to take? How many pick-up set-down stops are planned?

54

Gospaul,

Edinburgh 25/09/2007 16:26:41

It seems to me the government wants to have its cake and eat it here. They've already indicated that if the tramway runs over budget - the same tramway that they claimed to not want in the first place, remember - the city has to pay. Only now they're planning to take advantage of the said tramway - and save £650m in the process...

55

Porty Nat,

25/09/2007 16:43:02

#55 - What's wrong with that? Parliament wanted the trams and got them - so why not use them to provide the link to the airport?

Personally, I'd have preferred to see both schemes given the bullet and a suitable surface heavy rail link put in. But if the 'Newcastle' option of linking by tram/metro is there, the government would be daft not to use it.

56

Biker,

Ayr 25/09/2007 17:20:53

#50 Hambo It dosn't take a huge leap into the unknown to realise that if the rail line runs past the end of the runway, then to run a spur line to the terminal would be fairly simple.

57

Hello,

UK 25/09/2007 17:37:06

#36. Change at Haymarket.

58

Norman 2,

Edinburgh 25/09/2007 17:51:26

#57. No. The Fife rail line runs past the eastern end of the main runway. To get from there to the terminal you would have to cross the other (crosswind) runway. That either means tunnelling underneath it for your 'spur line' or a bus that would have to go via the Gogar roundabout.

59

The Ghost of Sir William Arrol,

The Forthy Bridge 25/09/2007 17:56:03

Thanks goodness the over the top EARL project is to be dropped. Demand for transport to the airport will diminish rapidly in the coming decades as global oil supplies decline and costs soar making flying very expensive indeed (25 years in the oil industry here). Taxation on aircraft pollution is also set to increase.

The future of transport in a world with little jet fuel will be high speed rail powered by various sources of electricity supply. Other places may have rail links to their airports, but those links will be sod all use within a couple of decades.

60

A Friend of Fernando Poo,

Newington 25/09/2007 18:45:53

This is what Edinburgh should really have:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7011932.stm

61

Euan,

Edinburgh 25/09/2007 19:27:23

#60

Sir Arrol

I think you have a very good point there.

There is no doubt we are far too reliant on air travel and while at the moment expansion of our airports seem to be 'vital' for our economies, when jet fuel prices go throught the roof all the massive investements we are seeing in airports the world over will be irrelevant.

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next 20-30 years!!

62

Julian,

25/09/2007 22:01:10

Euan,
You are right and the government should be taxing domestic flights to the hilt in my opinion but we'll still have a steadily growing long haul air travel sector for many years to come.

#55 and #56 Gospaul and Porty Nat,
Who are you guys kidding? The tram link to the airport will be a minor improvement on the buses but it pales into insignifigance compared to EARL.

63

Steve-o,

26/09/2007 07:52:46

What's all this about tunnels and fumes that that Nat bloke keeps going on about? You go through a whacking great tunnel every time you go between Waverley and Haymarket - and I haven't seen anyone choke... yet.

64

Danny Mather,

26/09/2007 09:20:24

64. - is there a station in that tunnel?

65

Declan,

Glasgow 26/09/2007 15:31:02

Just build a rail line from Edinburgh to the airport. Forget this hugely expensive linking with the other main Scottish lines. I agree with #19, I for one dislike having to travel for any flights and use Glasgow Airport for all my travels. If the flight is not available from Glasgow, I get the train to Prestwick which is very easy from Central Station.

The populous of Inverness or Aberdeen would rather take a city-hopper service to Gatwick or Heathrow and make their onward journey from there than travel 3 or more hours on a train to Edinburgh - believe me, I've lived in both cities!

Make Edinburgh Airport for the people of Edinburgh!

66

Marianne,

Stirling 26/09/2007 18:44:27

The usual HOT AIR and P!SH from the parochial "the world should revolve around us because we are the caaaapital and a major world city" delusional Edinborers.

EARL is/was a disgrace, a pathetic attempt to socially engineer Mickey Mouse Turnhouse airport into more than it actually is (i.e. a domestic airstrip for Scotland's 2nd largest city).

Perfectly good #100 bus service connecting the wee airport with the wee tourist town. Trams a waste of money as well because they will take longer than the airport bus service to reach the delusional city's airport.

Well done the SNP for having the sense and backbone to scrap the previous Laybore-FibDumb coalition's disgustingly expensive and unnecessary white elephant!!!!!!!!

No-one beyond the joke capital's small sphere of influence (the far east end of central Scotland) is interested in having to trek to Mickey Mouse Domestic airport for flights, certainly not anyone in Inverness or Aberdeen who laugh at and despise the wee pretendy 'capital' (where the natives' genetic delusion/denial prevents them from realising that Scotland's real/proper capital is elsewhere (40-odd miles away) and it aint Edinburgh) as much as Glasgow and the west of Scotland hates Edinburgh.

With the money saved we can provide a proper inter-city rail service between Scotland's major cities, starting with Inverness-Aberdeen.


 

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