Summary
Gordon Casely makes an excellent point in his letter, By rail in Portugal (October 20), about the lack of long-term ambition for Scotland's railways. It must amaze visitors that the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth and Inverness are not connected to central Scotland by a faster, more frequent train service. In some cases, bus travel is faster. Many people perceive that driving is at least as fast. Instead, Scotland's rail investment is now focused on airport links rather than long-distance travel by train.
Meanwhile, traffic increases on the A9, while the rail route alongside is still mainly single-track with passing places. A modest amount of money could be spent laying another track to make a proper high-speed Highland corridor bringing Inverness within three hours of central Scotland. This line could then carry as many trains as demand required and make the service more reliable. Maybe new routes from Inverness to north-west England could be established, for example. But this involves planning for a future where cheap aviation is no longer available and the roads are at capacity again.See the full content of this document
Extract
Time for Scottish Rail Investment
The crazy thing is ...
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