Rail station scheme provokes public fury

THE row over the proposed development of Croy Station shows no sign of letting up following the last public meeting of the initial consultation phase.

Proposals to construct a third track, expand the platform and re-build the Constarry Road bridge are all part of Transport Scotland’s Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP).

Residents and elected members attended the meeting at Croy Miners’ Welfare recently, and were left dismayed by what they heard.

Network Rail, who will carry out the work should it get the green light, were still unable to provide scale drawings of the plans.

Pat Johnstone, of Barbegs Crescent, said: “I feel this exercise is a total waste of time and public money. They’ve not answered one question we’ve put to them.

“They can’t tell you the volume of materials that will be needed or what the working practices will be.

“They’re going to do some blasting as well, and they’re going to do it at night.”

Councillors representing Kilsyth and villages were themselves less than impressed.

Councillor David Key said: “This meeting convinced me that Network Rail needs to drastically improve its public relations strategy and its ways of working.

“Their contractors have started working on aspects of the site without proper notification to the residents.”

Councillor Jean Jones commented: “I think the way it has been handled has been abysmal so far.

“They still don’t have answers for any of the questions or concerns raised by residents.”

Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, said: “The Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme is a massive commitment to improving central Scotland’s railway by the Scottish Government, and overall, I think the plan is extremely welcome.

“It is clear from the various public meetings that have been held in Croy that residents there, and in Dullatur, particularly those closest to the railway line itself, have a number of specific concerns about aspects of the programme.

“It is to be hoped that these can be ironed out.”

A spokesman for Network Rail said: “The EGIP project team is grateful for the open and honest way that the community of Croy and station users have engaged with the project team.”