We need a rail network which will stand the test of time

The coronavirus pandemic rightly demands an enormous amount of parliamentary time, but it remains important for politicians to continue to look to the future and consider what our recovery from this crisis will look like. That’s why the Scottish Greens recently launched our Rail for All report, which sets out detailed, fully costed, proposals for the future of Scotland’s public transport network.

While we’ve been dealing with the virus, the climate emergency has continued to grow. Successive governments insistence on prioritising new trunk roads at the expense of all else has led to private transport being one of the biggest polluters in the country.

Meanwhile, our railways have suffered decades of chronic underinvestment. To address that requires radical action and our £22 billion investment proposals provide exactly that. Investment in rail historically had a positive economic impact by improving connectivity and productivity. The Scottish Government’s own models show that every £1bn invested in rail generates £1.6bn in economic output.

While the most eyecatching part of our plan is a tunnel between Fife and Leith, it’s part of a long-term programme which will see improvements across the country. It’s worth noting that the proposed tunnel would relieve congestion and free up capacity throughout the network.

Our plans would also see significant upgrades for the line connecting Glasgow, Stirling, Perth and Dundee. While this line is relatively fast it still lags behind comparable routes elsewhere in Europe and there is much room for improvement. We’d rapidly electrify the 60 per cent of the line that still relies on diesel power and introduce high-acceleration trains that can exploit the potential for higher speeds. Not only will this have a positive environmental impact, but it will also make a solid dent in journey times for passengers.

We’d also fully reopen the line from Dunfermline to Alloa. This would connect Stirling to the West Fife villages for the first time in more than 50 years opening up new opportunities for work, leisure and education.

We want the Scottish Government to bring forward the schedule for electrifying the Inter-city network Stirling is a part of, to allow the current old diesel engines to be finally retired in favour of better cleaner trains.

Our plans are fundamentally about making rail the first and natural choice for every journey. Whether you’re commuting, travelling for business or leisure we want to make taking the train easy, accessible and affordable. It’s a strange situation that some rail journeys take longer in 2021 than they did in 1901 but that’s the reality. There’s no denying our plans are ambitious, but they are achievable. Since we published the report its been endorsed by trade unions, engineers and infrastructure experts.

We know from bitter experience that the Tory approach to crisis recovery doesn’t work. You can’t cut your way to a better future. Instead, prudent but significant investment can help build something to stand the test of time and drive us towards a sustainable future.

We have the means, now we need the will.

It will also make a solid dent in journey times