Call to restore long-shut link across city station for walkers and cyclists

A footbridge across Waverley Station in Edinburgh closed 60 years ago should be reopened as a new route across the city centre, campaigners have urged.

They want the link between Calton Road and East Market Street restored as part of a new masterplan for the station to cope with its expected 66 per cent passenger growth.

The walkway would provide a traffic-free and more direct route for cyclists and pedestrians between the top of Leith Walk and the Old Town.

It was opened in the 1890s during the eastern expansion 0 Stuart Hay says a new walkway would help of the station but shut by British Rail in 1958.

Jolin Warren, of Transform Scotland, said: “It would be great to re-establish the link, especially with the new St James development. Done right, this could be the primary route for pedestrians and cyclists.”

Stuart Hay, director of Living Streets Scotland, said: “A new walkway would help tackle congestion both within the station and on busy pavements linking historic parts of Edinburgh.”

A spokesman for Network Rail said: “The masterplan will look at how the station interacts with the surrounding streets.

“The possibility of creating an access over the station could be considered.

“However, there would need to be a business case for the investment identified as part of that process.”