campaigning

15 Schemes
to improve the competitiveness of Scotland and help to achieve a sustainable society

[see below the table for expanded map of Central Belt]

1	Main line electrification Electrification of the Edinburgh - Aberdeen- Glasgow triangle, together with associated track and signalling improvements. Provision of new electric trains with a cruising speed of around 110-125mph. The increased service, comfort and reliability would reduce the growth of traffic on the parallel roads and provide economic benefits for the area. Target times are Edinburgh - Glasgow 30 minutes, Glasgow - Aberdeen 2 hours and Edinburgh - Aberdeen 2 hours.
2	Dornoch Firth Rail Bridge A bridge over the Dornoch Firth parallel to the A9 road bridge (which was designed to be compatible with a rail crossing). This would reduce journey times by an hour and allow the rail service to compete more equally with road services, whose infrastructure has been heavily invested in by The Scottish Office. ScotRail's Parliamentary Bill seeking authority for this project was intended to assure the long-term future for this line by reducing costs while carrying more passengers. Up to 75% of the relatively small £15 million estimated cost is still available from European Union Objective One funding.
3	Glasgow CrossRail link Using the existing line across Glasgow, via a new station at Glasgow Cross, to integrate services north and south of the Clyde. As well as opening up through journey possibilities within Glasgow and helping to regenerate the Glasgow Cross area, with major interchanges at Glasgow Cross and West Street, the link would also make longer journeys possible, such as a service from Dundee to Glasgow Airport.
4	Airport links for Glasgow and Edinburgh These schemes would enhance the accessibility of the airports to the 40% of Scottish households that do not have access to a car. Airport staff, travellers and visitors would find these services of benefit. The attractiveness of these airports to people in Scotland and the North of England would be improved. The links would also help reduce the increasing traffic congestion at these airports.
5	Edinburgh suburban line reopening and electrification Increasingly journeys within Edinburgh are made around the centre. The suburban line is well placed to cater for such journeys and runs close to several large shopping centres, enhancing mobility. Reopening the existing freight only line to passengers would be the first stage, followed by electrification as the line demonstrated its potential.
6	Edinburgh - Dalkeith - Galashiels Reversing one of the most senseless Beeching Cuts, this £50 million scheme would be a central part of revitalising the area. As was shown at Bathgate a new rail service provides access to employment and enhances the local economy. This scheme is the way to resolve the congestion problems on the A7, A68 and in South-East Edinburgh.
7	Small passenger improvements A number of smaller improvements to enhance social mobility, access to employment, improve services for the disabled, reduce traffic congestion and promote sustainable travel as a positive alternative to the problems of ever increasing car use. Stirling - Alloa, Thornton - Leven/Methil, Leuchars - St Andrews, Falkirk - Grangemouth. Hamilton - Larkhall, East Kilbride town centre extension, Ayr - Alloway -Heads of Ayr (Wonder West), Maryhill - Anniesland, Lenzie - Kirkintilloch, Lanark Chord line
8	Better freight facilities New intermodal terminals at Aberdeen, Inverness, Edinburgh, Dundee and Stranraer will enhance the competitiveness of industry by overcoming the increasingly unpredictable nature of road transport. Building new roads will not produce the same effect as the new roads fill up with generated traffic, the Edinburgh Bypass being an example of this process. An added benefit would be the removal of hundreds of thousands of lorry movements a year from the roads with great reductions to emissions and a reduction in the danger posed to others by these lorries. A series of smaller general freight terminals throughout Scotland, especially in the Central Belt and Grampian, would have similar benefits for industry and society.
9	Reinstated coal routes In the Douglas Basin area of Ayrshire and Lanakrshire existing and potential coal sites generate large numbers of heavy lorry Around 50,000 lorry movements could be eliminated by a freight line in this area. There is substantial demand from the coal industry for rail facilities, but lorry movements to existing railheads cause problems with local inhabitants. A reinstatement of the line from Stirling to, Longannet would significantly improve the economics of rail borne coal movementss to Longannet Power Station. It would also enhance the possibility of introducing a Stirling-Alloa passenger service.
10	Improved links to major ports Encouraging the two-way movement of freight to ports by rail will reduce lorryy movements, reducing congestion on roads to the south as well as in the port areas. Hunterston, Grangemouth and Rosyth are suitable priority ports.
11	West Coast Main Line full upgrade A complete rebuilding of this line is necessary to allow it to compete on a level playing field with the parallel road which has been upgraded with large amounts of public money. Passengers would experience comfort, reliability and safety. A Glasgo-London time of 4 hours would be the aim. At the passenger upgrade, a full upgrade of the route for piggyback services and larger containers / swap bodies should be undertaken.
12	Piggyback spine route A route from Aberdeen to the upgraded West Coast Main Line. This would allow Scottish industry to reach the markets of mainland Europe more easily, allow railway freight operators to reach markets they cannot reach currently and reduce lorry movements on the A90/92, A80/M80 and M/A74 M6 corridors.
13	Suburban infill electrification Filling some of gaps in electric services will allow more integrated flexible train services, allow trainslto be worked harder` release the existing trains for use elsewhere. The routes are Holytown – Shotts – West Calder – Livingston, Paisley Canal line, East Kilbride line and Glasgow – Barrhead - Kilmarnock.
14	Upgrades to rural lines Raising speed limits,double track and signalling improvements will increase reliability, service frequency and comfort, making services more attractive. Tourism, commerce and industry in the rural areas will benefit. The routes from Glasgow - Carlisle (via Dumfries), Perth – Inverness, Aberdeen – Inverness and Ayr - Stranraer are the main candidates.
15	Airdrie - Bathgate direct link Completion of this 12-mile missing link would improve employment opportunity and mobility along this corridor. It would also help increase utilisation of existing rail investment in the Glasgow and Edinburgh areas. The low restoration costs and success of opening this line as far as Bathgate indicate a cost effective way of meeting public demand. This would give an attractive alternative to road-based travel between Livingston and the Glasgow area.

• Railways are cleaner, quieter, more energy efficient, potentially faster, safer and more environmentally friendly than other means of transport for a wide range of journeys. In Scotland we are now falling far behind many advanced countries in Europe because of our lack of investment in railways. The result is increased road congestion causing a loss of competitiveness, loss of opportunities, increased danger to citizens and increased pollution.
• We cannot solve these problems by building more and bigger roads. The government now accepts that building new roads generates new traffic, which fills up the new roads very quickly. This means the same problems often exist soon after opening, on a larger scale, than before the new road was opened. This is best illustrated by the fact that, three years after it opened, traffic on parts of the Edinburgh bypass had reached the levels forecast after thirty years. The congestion on this relatively new road is now so great that there is talk of widening it. The recent Draft NPPG on Land Use and Planning from The Scottish Office makes it clear that we cannot go on building large scale new roads as we have been.
• Fortunately there is a solution to these problems and a major part of the solution is the railways. The Society advocates reducing the level of spending on new roads in Scotland dramatically. This money is not solving traffic problems, it is just moving the problems around. The money saved would be invested in alternatives to roads, including the railways. The Bathgate line is an example of this sort of investment and it has exceeded the expectations of those who planned it. This leaflet outlines some desirable schemes for passengers and freight. Many are planned in detail and we can put you in touch with someone who will outline the scheme.
• The significance of these schemes is that nearly all have been actively promoted by the rail industry, often in conjunction with Local Authorities, as desirable for the achievement of a comprehensive and efficient railway system, allowing the railways to exploit their social, economic, environmental, energy and land-use advantages over many other forms of travel, by carrying more passengers and freight.
• The Railway Development Society is the only independent body that represents the views of rail users. It is free of the influence of political parties, trade unions, railway management, local government and national government.