Investment in the Inter-City Rail Network
We want to see a long-term programme of investment in the Scottish inter-city rail network so that rail, rather than road, can become the norm for travel between our cities.
We want to see a programme of journey time improvements and capacity enhancements (coupled with electrification) to link all Scottish cities by a modern, efficient rail system.
Journey times on key inter-urban corridors such as Edinburgh/Glasgow-Aberdeen and Edinburgh/Glasgow-Inverness are often uncompetitive because of the lack of real investment in rail infrastructure over many years. For example, in 1895, the fastest Edinburgh-Dundee journey time was 59 minutes – while in 2012, the fastest trip is 64 minutes (and the average 79 minutes). In 1913, the fastest Edinburgh-Perth journey took 65 minutes, while in 2012, the fastest time is 76 minutes (and the average 79 minutes).
In the short-term, this means the Scottish Government implementing in full the three key rail schemes which emerged from the Strategic Transport Projects Review:
- Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) project
- Highland Main Line improvements
- Aberdeen-Inverness line improvements
This programme would also include a focus on the strategic transport nodes, with Glasgow Central, Glasgow Queen Street, Edinburgh Waverley, Edinburgh Haymarket, Dundee, Aberdeen, Stirling, Perth, & Inverness stations being developed as high-quality transport interchanges. This is essential for connectivity within Scotland & for links to the south. Specifically as a gateway to Scotland’s capital, Waverley requires significant enhancement of its passenger environment and capacity upgrades on its eastern side. In the longer-term, we'd also like to see consideration of a new cut-off line from the Forth Bridge through Fife in order to significantly improve journey times from the Central Belt to Aberdeen & Inverness.
For trips outwith Scotland, there also needs to be a programme of investment in Anglo-Scottish rail links. We take the view that this can be accomplished through a programme of incremental improvements, but that there should also be consideration of the merits of a stand-alone high-speed line from London northwards, providing journey time improvements for trips from Scotland to the south of England and onwards to the continent.