THE nine-carriage express from Glasgow to Edinburgh is long overdue - in fact it does not yet exist.

But the announce­ment yesterday of revised plans for the revamp of Queen Street Station brings its arrival a little nearer.

The £120m overhaul is being carried out as part of the £740m Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP), which has already seen Waverley and Haymarket stations in Edinburgh undergo major facelifts. The Queen Street design, which replaces a blueprint drawn up in 2012, accommodates the longer platforms needed to take longer trains between our two major cities.

Glasgow Queen Street is at the heart of Scotland's rail network - the station is also known as the Gateway to the Highlands - and these long-awaited plans will play a pivotal role in bringing our infrastructure into the 21st century.

The proposals will see the station at last acquire the bearing to match its importance, with surrounding buildings also to be redeveloped. It should help to make rail travel a more enjoyable experience for visitors and tourists alike. The pain of any disruption will be a small price to pay for the satisfaction of getting EGIP on track.