17 September 2009
Scottish Budget: Scrapping of Glasgow Airport Rail Link
Public transport losing out to increased spend on road-building
Transform Scotland [1] today (Thursday 17th) responded to the Scottish Government's budget by criticising the removal of funds from public transport in the face of continued increased in spend on roads. [2]
Colin Howden, Director of Transform Scotland, said:
"In light of its climate change commitments and the need to radically improve the standard of our public transport services, it is deeply disappointing that the Government has chosen to scrap a rail scheme.
"Spending on roads is again budgeted to rise while spending on buses, railways and active travel are either flat or falling. It is difficult to see how this budget can be seen to be environmentally sustainable when road-building is budgeted to increase while money is taken away from public transport.
"Most worryingly of all, the Government seems determined to press on with its plans for a Second Forth Road Bridge irrespective of its horrendous price tag and massively damaging impacts. Areas all round Scotland should be asking the Government as why their areas are being deprived of transport spending so that billions can be funnelled into this unaffordable and unnecessary vanity project. We will not be surprised if GARL is only the first of cuts to important public transport projects so that an additional Forth road bridge can be built.
"If the Government is not to proceed with the Glasgow Airport Rail Link project, it should be looking to see whether it can put in place a scaled-down, and more affordable link from Paisley into Glasgow Airport – much as it did previously when it replaced the unaffordable Edinburgh Airport Rail Link (EARL) project with the Gogar Interchange link."
ENDS
Notes to Editors
[1] Transform Scotland is the national sustainable transport alliance, bringing together rail, bus and shipping operators, local authorities, national environment and conservation groups, businesses and local transport groups - see <http://www.transformscotland.org.uk/our-members.aspx> for details.
[2] See p.31 of <http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/284860/0086518.pdf>. Six of the eight transport spending lines see a fall, with only 'Concessionary Fares' and 'Motorways and Trunk Roads' seeing a rise (up £1.6 and up £33.8m, respectively).
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