14 years without a decision on Aberdeen rail link improvements
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A decision on what areas of the north-east will benefit as part of a £200 million fund to improve rail links between Aberdeen and the Central Belt has been delayed again – 14 years after the pledge was first made.
Scottish Conservative north-east MSP Liam Kerr described the latest delay as shambolic and said the SNP’s promise to improve the north-east’s rail infrastructure, first announced in 2008, was “plucked out of thin air”.
In a response to Mr Kerr last year, Kate Forbes said the improvement options would be finalised by the start of this year.
But after Mr Kerr demanded answers as to why this still hasn’t been announced, transport secretary Jenny Gilruth confirmed the selection had been delayed and now won’t be made until the end of 2022.
The Scottish Government pledged the money for improvements such as track dualling to reduce journey times between Aberdeen and Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh in 2008.
It was subsequently reannounced in 2016 as part of the Aberdeen City Region Deal, with plans in place to have the works completed by 2026.
In the meantime, the north-east line continues to be one of the worst in the country for cancelled and delayed services.
Liam Kerr MSP said: “The SNP Government have teased the public with this false promise on more than one occasion and they have again shifted the goalposts
“If they were serious about enhancing the north-east’s rail infrastructure, it wouldn’t have taken them 14 years to decide what improvement options to select.
“It’s clear this promise was plucked out of thin air and I have had to push and push to make sure it hasn’t been forgotten about.
“We have seen countless disruptions to north-east services and coupled with the ScotRail strikes, these issues have reached shambolic levels.
“It’s now time for SNP ministers to stop prioritising the likes of Glasgow and Edinburgh and finally give north-east commuters the long overdue improvements they deserve.”
In her response to Mr Kerr’s question, Jenny Gilruth said: “The package of enhancements identified via the option selection process is to be confirmed by Transport Scotland by the end of 2022.
“The package comprises signal enhancements, improvements to station approaches and specific capacity alternations to facilitate the mixed operation of faster and slower trains on the same route.”
