Station car park extension derailed as contractors sacked

TAL Civil Engineering had been working on the £785,000 extension to the car park in Slamannan Road, which would have created 61 more spaces to serve the station, since November last year.

However, Falkirk Council was forced to terminate the contract with the firm on March 3.

A council spokesman said: “Our contractor has not been able to meet their contractual obligations and we have had to terminate their contract last week. There will be a delay as we will have to issue another tender for the remaining work.

“We expect work to restart in May with the revised opening date of September now likely. Once completed, the car park will create an additional 61 car parking spaces for commuters and travellers.”

Although TAL Civil Engineering has not gone into administration at this time, the council stated there appears to be a financial issue with the firm, which had an impact on its ability to secure the necessary subcontractors to complete the works.

The long-awaited third car park, when it is finally complete, will bring the total number of car parking spaces available at High Station to 416.

Most of the cash for the project came from the council’s capital programme with contributions from ScotRail and the Scottish Stations Fund and also involved the construction of new lighting, CCTV and a cycle rack.

Last September, Councillor Craig R Martin said: “Encouraging greater use of public transport is important and creating these additional 61 spaces for cars and a cycle rack for bikes will help towards this aim.

“The train links to the Falkirk area are very important with thousands travelling to and from the various stations located here and we will continue to support schemes that improve services locally.”