Nine people were rescued from Waters Close in Leith last night following a fire which started there around 8.45 p.m. Six of those were taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary suffering from smoke inhalation according to this article from the Press Association, but only three according to Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service on Twitter.
(UPDATE: Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service have confirmed this morning that 13 people were rescued and 7 taken to hospital)
Scottish Enterprise advise that tourism has been very upbeat in Edinburgh this summer, with record numbers of visitors to the capital. The reopening of the National Museum is cited as one of the reasons, which will hopefully be repeated when the Scottish National Portrait Gallery opens at the beginning of next month.
At a meeting to be held in the Abbeyhill area of Edinburgh tonight, the Capital Rail Action Group (CRAG) will be making the case for the re-opening of Abbeyhill Station.
CRAG Chair, Lawrence Marshall, said:
“Edinburgh is the second most congested city in Britain and the seventh in Europe. In order to tackle congestion, we need to see swifter progress in reopening some of the comprehensive rail network that the City previously enjoyed.
“The Scottish Government has commissioned rail works in the Abbeyhill area as part of the ‘Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme’ (“EGIP”). An opportunity exists, as an add-on to these works, to re-open Abbeyhill Station to give those living and passing through this densely populated part of the city access to a fast, frequent rail service. This would provide the area with a two-minute connection with Waverley, a seven-minute connection with Haymarket, and would re-connect the area with the regional and national rail network. We believe this proposal represents a “once in a generation” opportunity to enhance rail facilities in this part of Edinburgh.
“CRAG welcomes the support already offered by local politicians and hopes that Wednesday’s meeting, to be addressed by Network Rail, will mark a further stage in rail becoming again an option for travel within the capital”.
Meeting on Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme and Abbeyhill with Presentations by Network Rail and Capital Rail Action Group will be held tonight at London Road Church Hall (top of Easter Road) at 7.30 p.m.
The Washington Post reports that a pair of Queen Victoria’s undies sold in Edinburgh yesterday for £9,375 while the iconic painting of the Queen and her faithful servant John Brown fetched considerably more selling for £145,000.
The Scotland Bill Committee spent yesterday afternoon till just after 6 o’clock at Holyrood discussing the report by Lord McCluskey and others on the role of the UK Supreme Court in relation to Scottish criminal law, which was published in September 2011. The report concluded that some changes to the terms of The Scotland Bill will be required. Two Edinburgh MSPs are on this committee, Alison Johnstone and David McLetchie. If you want to know what is on today at The Scottish Parliament then you can find out by reading the daily Business Bulletin and you can watch some of the business there live online.
