Plenty to celebrate Rail users can have their say

Consultation on Breich Station bid

A rma d a l e A cademy is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with a special celebration.

The school first opened in 1967 and the school is planning to celebrate its golden anniversary next month.

Orga n i s e r s o f the celebrations are currently making plans on how to best mark the event as a community.

They hope to have a guest speaker to describe the changes over the last five decades as well as having some displays and the school is looking for help to create this and are appealing for any photographs from former pupils and staff from the past 50 years.

A spokesperson said: “Maybe you have photos from the old school or perhaps sporting or academic achievements or music shows etc. Any photos can be copied by the school promptly and returned to you.”

The school is also hoping to have displays of memorabilia from the last 50 years and are hoping locals will also help by lending anything they might have. The spokesperson continued: “Maybe you could share a story or memory from your time at school — happy events and fond memories, maybe of friendships made or school dinners.”

Get in touch with Yvonne.egan@westlothian. org.uk or call 01506 282145.

Network Rail has issued a final reminder for West Lothian people to have their say in a 12week consultation on the future of Breich Station.

Views are being sought from rail users, the local community and other interested parties into the potential closure of the station.

Ne t w o r k R a i l is conducting the consultation on behalf of Transport Scotland, who will make the final decision on the future of the station once the consultation report has been submitted.

The unmanned West Lothian station is currently served by one train service per day in each direction, six days a week. The official patronage figure for the station in 2015-16 was 138 passengers, an average of 2.6 passengers per week.

David Dickson, infrastructure director for the ScotRail Alliance, which includes Network Rail, said: “We have held two drop- in sessions in the local community, sent letters to residents and have advertised this consultation widely. We want to ensure that anyone with an interest in the station has the opportunity to air their views before a consultation report is submitted to Transport Scotland for consideration.

“Network Rail takes pride in the role it has played in growing Scotland’s Railway in recent years. Where there is proof of demand, such as the Airdrie-Bathgate route and along the Borders Railway, we have actively supported the opening of new stations and the reopening of old ones.

“As a responsible This can be downloaded at www. networkrail. co. uk/ breichstation

The proposal to close the station has already been criticised by West Lothian Council. Speaking recently, executive councillor for development and transport, Cathy Muldoon, said: “The closure of Breich Station is unacceptable. We will be writing to Network Rail to this effect and we will be calling on Network Rail to expand its economic assessment of Breich Station.”

The consultation period will close on Monday, October 2. On completion, a final report will be produced by Network Rail on behalf of Transport Scotland.

Responses to the proposal should be sent to breichstation@networkrail. co. uk or Breich Station Consultation, Community Relations, Network Rail, 151-153 St Vincent Street, Glasgow, G2 5NW.