24 March 2011
Scottish rail report
Transform Scotland board member Paul Tetlaw reports on the status of key rail projects and services.
Airdrie–Bathgate Rail Link
The line opened on time in December 2010 for through trains but with only one train per hour.
All intermediate stations have now opened and the train service increased to half hourly.
The line was officially opened earlier this month. The full 15 minute service is expected to commence on 23 May once all the new Siemens trains have been delivered – allowing a cascade of the trains currently used on the Ayrshire lines to the Airdrie–Bathgate line.
The parallel cycle route is progressing well and appears to be constructed to a high standard. However we remain concerned about the lack of active travel routes linking the settlements to the new stations. Large amounts have been spent on constructing station car parks but little thought given to active travel access to the stations.
We hope that the recent restructuring in Transport Scotland ensures that similar mistakes are not repeated in the future. We would expect to see renewed focus by Transport Scotland and Local Authorities along the route on creating appropriate active travel routes to the new stations.
See Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link project website for more details for this project.
Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP)
The project appears to be progressing well and promotional leaflets have appeared on the Edinburgh–Glasgow trains advertising the 25% reduction in journey times that will be delivered. We await further details of a promised consultation from Network Rail.
Highland Main Line improvements
We are not aware of any meaningful progress on this project - this is very disappointing given the promises made by the SNP Government (and its reputed position as
one of the "4 priorities" from the Strategic Transport Projects Review).
Aberdeen–Inverness line improvements
We are not aware of any real progress on this project (again, despite its reputed position as
one of the "4 priorities" from the Strategic Transport Projects Review).
Borders Railway
We are pleased to hear that the project has
met the eligibility criteria for a loan of £100m to the successful bidder from the European Investment Bank. Two bidders are now competing and we look forward to the announcement of the successful bidder later this year and then rapid progress with construction of the railway.
Rural rail services
We see no significant progress and we made the point in
our response to the Scotland 2 RUS that a whole new approach is required.
We are however pleased to note that ScotRail will run a direct Edinburgh to Oban service on ten Sundays this summer. We also understand that Transport Scotland are funding Highland Council to take forward with Network Rail the design of a station at Conan Bridge.
Friends of the West Highland Lines arranged a half day seminar to bring together the key players, but unfortunately this had a reduced attendance because of the severe weather conditions. The Friends Group have made some progress by working with the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park and Network Rail to clear trees at three sections of the line and so open up iconic views.
We believe that the Government's aim should be to grow patronage on these routes and that all stakeholders should work together to promote the routes.
Anglo-Scottish rail services
Earlier this month,
we responded to the Network Rail West Coast Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) consultation and will be responding to the
DfT InterCity West Coast consultation (closing date 21 April). We are calling for more and faster services to Manchester, Birmingham and London and the use of all-electric traction on the Manchester and Birmingham routes. We would also like to see the re-introduction of direct services to Liverpool and Blackpool.
A
new East Coast timetable will be introduced in May. This gives a new early morning four-hourly service from Edinburgh to London.
From May, East Coast will only be running one train through from Edinburgh to Glasgow, but we understand that Arriva Cross Country will now provide Glasgow-York/Leeds/Derby trains so introducing new journey opportunities from the West of Scotland to the North of England.
DfT's Intercity Express Programme (IEP)
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond announced on 1 March that the Government intend to go ahead with the Agility trains proposal. The trains will be built by Hitachi who will build a fleet of electric and diesel electric multiple units (bi-mode). The £4.5 billion fleet is expected to total about 100 trains with the first in service by 2016.
The fleet will comprise 11 eight-car and 89 five-car trains. Many trains on the London to Edinburgh route will use pairs of five-car units before splitting to send a single bi-mode unit on to Aberdeen or Inverness.
The new IEP's will replace the existing diesel 125 trains but the East Coast fleet of electric 225 trains will remain in service.
See DfT website for more information on the IEP.
High Speed 2
The DfT is
consulting on the initial London-Birmingham route (deadline for responses 29 July) and a seminar was held in Glasgow on 17 March.
There is concern within Government and the rail industry that opposition in the Chilterns may lead to cancellation of the project. All those who support the need for extra rail capacity on the approaches to London from the Midlands and North of England are being urged to express support for the HS2 proposals.
We will be responding to the consultation.
See HS2 website for more details on the project.