More needed in Scotland

Richard Clinnick takes a very optimistic view of ScotRail ( Comment, RAIL 864), but there are some clear deficiencies/areas to improve in a country which relies heavily on rail for tourism and travel to work.

Glasgow Crossrail is the elephant in the room for Transport Scotland. This vital link, first promoted in 1968, thoroughly deserves to be implemented. It would connect the electrified network from the densely populated Ayrshire/ Renfrewshire area to central Glasgow near Trongate, where there is ample room for a station to the Central Belt and beyond. We should be vigorously promoting through services - for example, Ayr-Edinburgh via Falkirk High and Gourock-Stirling/Perth, subject to electrification.

There are further reopenings justified at Luncarty, Aucterarder/ Blackford. Road traffic is awful in Perth city centre at peak hours!

Further south we need to redouble the single track between Barrhead and Kilmarnock, and extend these services (pending electrification) to Kilmarnock’s suburbs at Queen’s Drive immediately adjacent to the retail/ leisure park.

This is virtually adjacent to the giant Bellfield roundabout straddling the A71/A77, which is extremely busy at peaks and subject to calls for enlargement. ASDA pulls in motorists from all over the area.

Mauchline, Auchinleck and Cumnock: the latter two mining settlements (joint population of circa 17,500) have supermarkets which will supply most local people’s needs, but there is still some significant car travel to Kilmarnock -including for football/ leisure.

The hilly, tortuous East Kilbride

Line also needs to be electrified, with services extended to north of the Clyde.

South of Ayr there should be an extension of electric services to Balmont around three-quarters of a mile south of the town’s main station, preferably just short of the level crossing in this heavily populated suburb.

And we need more redoubled track to Stranraer, with far better access to the Harbour station. Stranraer Town station closed years ago but has not been developed. It is well suited to pedestrians, while the Harbour terminus could be developed to take car and bus traffic.

Transport Scotland need to take a longer view of Stranraer as a railway terminus. Graham Lund, Girvan