The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Business leader wants main line ‘step change’
Transport: Chief claims route is ‘far below’ required level
An Inverness business leader has called for a “step change” to improve rail services on the Highland main line (HML) between the city and Scotland’s central belt.
Describing it as “underpinning the economy of the whole Highlands,” Inverness Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stewart Nicol said “every aspect” of the route remained far below what was required for the area.
Mr Nicol’s comments came after the appointment of consultants to carry out a £75,000 study of route speed improvements on the HML was announced.
Professional services firm WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff has been selected by Transport Scotland to carry out the work and will produce a business case for improvement plans.
The project forms part of the second phase of the HML upgrade. The first phase saw two additional services introduced, which reduced the journey time on the line by an average six minutes.
Mr Nicol said: “I am frustrated at the extremely slow rate of progress of any improvements to the HML.
“I understand the need for business cases to underpin investment decisions, but every aspect of the HML remains far below what is required for the city of Inverness and the whole of the Highlands.”
Journey times and the standard of rolling stock on the line were “completely unacceptable in the 21st century,” he said.
He added: “What the region’s business community needs is a step change in the service offering in the quickest possible timeframe, rather than ongoing ad-hoc, and in reality barely-perceptible, changes over decades.”
Frank Roach of transport partnership Hitrans welcomed the project.
Mr Roach said: “The region is rightly looking forward to the step change of hourly, faster high speed trains from May 2018. We need to have good connectivity that allows for efficient same day travel between the Highland capital and central belt for business, leisure and tourism.”