Nestrans submit ‘Case for Change’ for accessibility at Insch
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Nestrans, the Regional Transport Partnership for the north east of Scotland, have written to Transport Scotland for approval to undertake further work on accessibility issues at Insch Rail Station.
At their Board meeting next week, members of the partnership will hear that an ‘Initial Appraisal: Case for Change’ report has been submitted to Transport Scotland, evidencing the longstanding issues at the station.
The 128-page report, prepared on behalf of Nestrans by transport consultants AECOM, follows the study undertaken last year which engaged with several stakeholders, including a public consultation event in October.
Chair of Nestrans, councillor Sandra Macdonald said, “We know from the survey engagement that a wide range of people are affected by the access arrangements at the station.
“Wider improvements to the local network will result in more and better services between Inverness and Aberdeen, which mobility impaired users will not be able to use to their full advantage.
“Not only is there a strong desire within the community for future improvements to be made, the consultation has suggested that the station would be used more frequently if accessibility was improved by the access arrangements at Insch station.”
Although many stations across Scotland suffer from accessibility issues, Insch presents a unique case in that users would have to travel at least 15km to reach an alternative partly accessible station, or travel 30km to Dyce for a fully accessible station.
In that regard, Insch is considered one of the least accessible stations in Scotland
As part of the study, a number of options have been generated to improve accessibility at Insch.
Transport Scotland have been asked to approve the Initial Appraisal report, before the options identified are taken forward for more detailed consideration.
