Station taxi chaos warningSCOTLAND'S capital city could descend into traffic chaos due to train station anti-terrorism barriers when thousands of rugby fans pour into Edinburgh for the Calcutta Cup.
Taxi drivers have warned Waverley train station's new security barriers will create a traffic jam around the area.
A huge travelling support is expected when Scotland host England in the Calcutta Cup at Murrayfield in a fortnight - with the station a prime port for their arrival.
The new barriers have drawn criticism since their installation last Monday, with taxis forced to queue all the way up Waverley Bridge while waiting their turn to enter the station. Network Rail drafted in two stewards to manually operate the new barriers as the automatic 30-second wait between the barriers closing and reopening caused major tailbacks.
Raymond Davidson, secretary of the Edinburgh Taxi Association, believes there will be further disruption ahead of the 5pm kick-off on February 8.
He said: "Those barriers will be properly put to the test that weekend. I would hope that Network Rail have thought of this because there could be chaos."
Station bosses, however, insisted they were "confident" the new system will withstand the big rugby crowds.
A Network Rail spokesman said: "We are confident the system will provide a good service for passengers while also helping to meet our need to enhance security and improve the station environment."
source:
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home ... g.23273660
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