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E A S T C O A S TEast Coast Main Line Company

East Coast Main line Company limited

East Coast House, 2S Skeldergate

YorkY016DH

www.eastcoast.co.uk

Kezia Dugdale MSPM1.07The Scottish ParliamentEdinburghEH991SP

Thursday 23 August 2012

Dear Ms Dugdale,

Developments at Craigentinny I Portobello Depot

For more than a century the rail depot at Craigentinny I Portobello has acted as a vital maintenance hub for theUK's rail network and operation. For its part, East Coast, which manages the depot, takes its responsibilities asgood neighbours within the community very seriously. With more than 240 skilled employees at the depot,Craigentinny remains an important facility both for us, the local and wider economy, and the rail industry as a

whole.

The depot has recently been successful in securing new business to service trains for another operator(CrossCountry), which reinforces its continuing significance as a service hub for the rail industry. The additionalworkload and utilisation of the depot's existing facilities has resulted in a number of complaints from residents

living close to the site, particularly in relation to increased noise.

In response to this, East Coast organised a meeting at Portobello Town Hall on Tuesday 14 August, which waskindly chaired by local MSP Kenny MacAskil1. The meeting sought to explain the changes at the depot to a smallgroup of residents who live closest to the Portobello sidings, adjacent to Stanley Street, and to describe the plans

we are putting in place to improve the situation quickly.

I am writing to let you know how we are seeking to address residents' concerns and feedback. In the comingmonths, we will maintain a programme of regular communication and engagement with the wider communityaround the Portobello sidings to ensure that all of our neighbours who feel they have been affected by thechanges to operations there have a full opportunity to understand what is currently happening to bring noise

levels from the depot back down to acceptable levels.

Noise Reduction Plans

We are working with City of Edinburgh Council to implement a full noise reduction plan. This aims to reduce

noise to levels that are acceptable both to the local authority and to residents. To achieve this, East Coast is

currently planning the following:

Noise-Absorbing Fence

We have approved an investment of nearly 400,000 to mitigate noise through the construction of a noise-absorbing fence. The fence will be 395 metres long, four metres high, and extend along the boundary ofPortobello sidings, adjacent to Stanley Street. This will be barely visible as it will be made from timber and will, inthe main, be concealed by trees. We are now in the final stages of planning the construction of the fence and,subject to further noise-testing, construction should begin early next month and take approximately ten weeks.We do not expect the construction process to cause any significant disruption either in terms of local road traffic

or excess out-of-hours noise. A sample section of the completed fence will be available for inspection at thedepot, should residents or stakeholders wish to see it or discuss it.

Registered in England

Registered Offices:

4th Floor, One Kemble Street, London, WC2B 4TS

Registered Number: 04659708

http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/

7/31/2019 120827 East Coast Depot Noise at Craigentinny-Portobello

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East Coast Main Line Company

Service Routine Improvements

We .are working closely with CrossCountry Trains and our cleaning contractors to trial adjustments to servicing

routines to help reduce noise when examining, maintaining and cleaning the trains at night.

Noise tests

East Coast has been working with City of Edinburgh Council to conduct tests to ensure our improved service

routines are working. The first of these, conducted on 25 July, indicated both to local authority officers and to

East Coast that substantially reduced noise levels could be achieved. We will undertake another full noise test on

30 August - a date when the maximum number of trains will be cleaned at the Portobello sidings - to further

gauge the situation. If this test indicates that the combination of measures put in place have been successful, we

will ensure that they are maintained and monitored on an on-going basis so that noise does not escalate in the

future.

We anticipate that the full range of measures to reduce noise will be in place by November this year, and we will

ensure that the community is kept fully updated on our progress in delivering the changes.

Keeping people informed

Newsletter

The first of a series of newsletters will be issued to members of the local community in early September. These

will explain the current situation at the depot and describe the measures being put in place to reduce noise from

the Portobello sidings. It will also let people know how best to contact East Coast to discuss any aspect of

operations at the Craigentinny / Portobello Depot that affects them.

Exhibition

We will hold an open exhibition at Portobello Town Hall, most likely in September, to give people an opportunityto drop in and learn more about what we are doing, discuss the issues further and to give more feedback.

Contacting East Coast

We have set up a direct point of contact for anyone in the local area either to phone or email East Coast on any

matter that relates directly to the developments outlined at Craigentinny / Porto bello Depot. Residents can call

0845 059 3413 or email East Coast on craigentinny@eastcoast.co.uk.

I would like to reiterate that the Town Hall meeting, which was both constructive and very helpful from East

Coast's perspective, was only the beginning of our efforts to address local concerns, feedback and suggestions

about the maintenance of trains at the Portobello sidings. We hope that the entire community will notice

substantial improvements in the coming weeks and months, but we are keen to ensure that we give all localresidents the opportunity to have their say on these efforts, and to raise any other concerns about how East

Coast's work at the depot affects them.

As an MSP for the Lothians area I would welcome the opportunity to discuss the developments at the depot or

indeed any other aspect of East Coast's operations with you, should you wish to.

Yours sincerely,

~.Paul Emberley

Director of CommunicationsEast Coast Main Line Company Ltd

E: paul.emberley@eastcoast.co.uk

T: 0845 059 3021

mailto:craigentinny@eastcoast.co.uk.mailto:paul.emberley@eastcoast.co.ukmailto:paul.emberley@eastcoast.co.ukmailto:craigentinny@eastcoast.co.uk.