The train at platform six... is going slower

JOURNEYS on one of Scotland’s main railway lines now take ten minutes longer than at the start of the century, it was claimed yesterday.

A rise in the average train journey time from Glasgow to Inverness was cited by Tory MSP Liz Smith as evidence for the need of an upgrade.

She said: ‘It is very clear that serious issues remain about journey times across several key parts of the Scottish rail network.

‘Passengers do not understand why some journey times are increasing at a time when specific commitments were made by the Scottish Government to improve passenger service.

‘The fact that the journey from Glasgow to Inverness is actually taking ten minutes longer in 2014 than it did in the year 2000 is not acceptable, nor are the issues on other lines facing similar problems, most especially those in the north of Scotland.’

She said journey times compared poorly with other parts of the UK, adding: ‘For example, the hour and five minute journey from Edinburgh to Perth, is 40 minutes on similar routes in the UK and 35 minutes on similar routes in Western Europe.

‘Improved connectivity is vital to the economic success of Scotland and that is why the Scottish Government must take urgent action to obtain specific commitments within the negotiation process for the new ScotRail franchise.’

But a Transport Scotland spokesman said: ‘The Highland Main Line improvements project aims to deliver journey time improvements of around 35 minutes and an hourly service in phases up to 2025.

‘Phase one has already cut journey times by up to 18 minutes from December 2012 and phase two will reduce the average journey time by a further ten minutes, as well as providing increased service frequency.’