On a playing field that is far from level
While one can understand the road haulage sector fighting its own corner, what of the Scottish Government and its role in protecting the wider public interest? Given the A9 Safety Group’s research results, it would appear that the Government – in authorising a three-year 50mph trial – is willing to countenance fewer lives being saved and fewer people avoiding injury, if that satisfies road haulage interests and impatient car drivers.
This unfair skewing of traffic management policy in favour of one mode of transport represents a threat to existing freight traffic on the railway – which has a substantially better safety record than the road, as well as generating a fraction of the carbon dioxide emissions. And the situation is set to get even worse, with the Government planning full dualling of the A9, for a breathtaking price tag of £3 billion – while as-yetunspecified upgrades to the Perth-Inverness railway are capped at just £600 million.
Since a special case is being made for A9 road hauliers, what enhancements will be made by government to support Central Scotland-Inverness rail freight services – in order to maintain, at the very least, the current equilibrium for competition between road and rail?
Looking to the longer term picture on the Perth-Inverness corridor, it is unacceptable that rail enhancement should have such low priority. If full dualling is good enough for the A9, similar treatment should be good enough for the railway – providing a step change in capacity and quality for both freight and passengers. In reaching its decision to dual the A9, the Government’s appraisal process was flawed, as it did not examine cross-modal packages of road and rail investment to determine the optimum mix to meet policy objectives and provide best value for the taxpayer. Too much transport policy is politics-led rather than evidence-based, and this usually means road gets priority over rail. It’s in everyone’s interests – even road hauliers’ – to get more freight on rail between Perth and Inverness, but the rail freight sector can only do so much in terms of “improving efficiency“with one hand tied behind its back by Government policy. l