Fort to Edinburgh rail link ‘can be done’
Ambitious plans to construct a rail link between Tulloch and Newtonmore – effectively creating a three-hour direct link between Fort William and Edinburgh – have been revisited by a former Fort William resident 40 years after they were first drawn up.
Principal planning engineer James Wegner, originally from Fort William but who now lives in Australia, hopes to get people thinking about the ‘bigger picture’ of rail transportation in the Highlands and has drawn up plans to create a Tulloch to Newtonmore railway link based on an old report on the project from 1978.
The original report, entitled The Case for a Tulloch to Newtonmore Rail Link was submitted to the Scottish Office and what was then the Highlands and Islands Development Board 40 years ago but the plans never came to fruition.
Using that document as inspiration, Mr Wegner ‘added flesh’ to it and compiled a new report in 2016 outlining a 26-mile West Highland Line Extension (WHLE) which would connect the West Highland Line with the Highland Main Line which runs from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Inverness - effectively providing a direct rail link between Fort William and the three cities.
Now the former Lochaber resident is pushing for a feasibility study to be conducted on the proposal, with an eye to getting the project on the agenda for the next Scottish Government Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR) for the period 2032 to 2057.
‘This wasn’t my idea originally,’ he told the Lochaber Times. ‘It was first put forward 40 years ago – they were asking for a feasibility then and that’s what I’m asking for now.’
Mr Wegner continued: ‘In those 40 years nothing has happened and it’s not on the current strategic programme. So is it going to be another 40 years?’
Having roughly costed the project at £520million, Mr Wegner admits that the WHLE is an ambitious proposal but feels there is a renewed impetus to improve the area’s infrastructure and transport links, considering the potential influx of 400 new workers at the new Liberty factory and other developments.
‘For the expanding population, we need to constantly upgrade existing services,’ he continued. ‘We have to be thinking about this now, not in 50 years.
‘I just want to get it on the radar and get people talking about it. Regardless of the outcome, at least the result of a feasibility study will show whether it could go ahead.’
Mr Wegner pointed out that the WHLE would not mean the closure of the ‘iconic’ West Highland Line but would supplement it and provide an alternative strategic route for freight and emergencies.
Lochaber MSP Kate Forbes, who has previously met with Mr Wegner about his proposals, agrees future planning is needed when it comes to transport.
‘While my priority in Lochaber is first and foremost relieving congestion in Fort William and improving the A82, I agree that more investment is required in rail,’ she said.
‘James Wegner’s proposal to connect Tulloch to Newtonmore makes a lot of sense and I have previously had extensive conversations with him. We should have a rolling programme of transport programmes so that we are prepared for population growth and new opportunities in Lochaber. I’m determined to see improvements to the A82 as a matter of priority. I commend James Wegner’s efforts to highlight what is a very reasonable, logical improvement to west coast railways. I would like to see fewer cars on the roads and more people using public transport but that means railways need to be on time, go to the right places and have enough capacity.’