12 December 2005

Scottish Executive Rail Strategy For Scotland Consultation Response

The Inner Moray Firth Area economy has been booming for a decade.

The single track access railways to Inverness from Perth and Aberdeen have inadequate capacity to serve both the increasing freight and passenger needs of the area. Additional passing loops are urgently needed to permit an hourly passenger frequency end to end on both lines and more paths for freight trains.

Greater local passenger train frequency with park and ride facilities would be a major step to reduce the increasingly severe road congestion around Inverness.

The Far North Line needs more capacity out of Inverness and shorter journey times.

New stations are sought at Conon Bridge, Dalcross Airport, and Inverness Retail Park.

Greatly improved rolling stock is needed for all First ScotRail daytime services via Inverness.

Introduction

1.    Friends of the Far North Line (FoFNL) was formed in 1994 and currently has 190 members including some of the local community councils.

2.    The FNL runs from Inverness to Thurso (154 miles) and Wick (161.5 miles direct or 175 miles via Thurso). In 2004, the end to end journey time was slowed down by more than 20 minutes. It now takes 3 hours 48 minutes to Thurso and 4 hours 17 minutes to Wick.

3.    The FNL does not exist in isolation. A branch diverges at Dingwall (18.75 miles) for a further 63.5 miles to Kyle of Lochalsh opposite the Isle of Skye. At Inverness, connections are made with the lines to Aberdeen (108 miles) and to Perth (118 miles). Through trains to Edinburgh, Glasgow and London travel via Perth

Scottish Executive Policies

4.    FoFNL is fully supportive of Scottish Executive (SX) policies to improve public transport and to encourage people to use trains in particular rather than the private car. We applaud the new rail enhancements currently under way or proposed. We note that, as yet, very little is proposed for the Highlands.

5.    We believe that the STAG appraisal method in use for new schemes may be less reliable for rural and longer distance lines. This has been brought home by the very surprising recent failure of proposed improvements (mooted since 1994) on the Inverness-Aberdeen line to gain approval. It should be possible for Network Rail, as successor to Railtrack to come up with much lower costings for the Forres and Orton Loop projects.

Infrastructure Enhancement Needs

6.    All three lines radiating from Inverness are largely single track with passing loops and this presents considerable operating problems. The Highlands, and the Inner Moray Firth area in particular, has been growing very rapidly and presenting significant increases in both passenger and freight traffic annually for the past decade or more. The two access lines from Perth and Aberdeen, both more than 100 miles of largely single track, now have few spare paths for new trains. This is starting to constrain the continuing rapid expansion of the area.

7.    It is now urgent that extra passing loops and lengths of double track should be constructed on these lines for the fast growing passenger and freight demands.

8.    We would suggest starting on the Perth line with reinstated loops at Etteridge (south of Newtonmore) and Ballinluig to break up the two remaining long single line sections and permit the desired expansion of the passenger service to an hourly frequency.

9.    We would suggest starting on the Aberdeen line with the reinstated loop at Orton, and the combining of station and loop at both Forres and Keith. This should permit an hourly frequency of trains between Inverness and Aberdeen. Given that the A96 road is narrow and dangerous (particularly in bad weather) and the railway is quicker, an hourly service has the potential to do very good business. It should be half hourly from both ends at commuting times.

10.    We would go on to suggest the early construction of a new station and passing loop at Inverness Dalcross Airport. The A96 is particularly badly congested between Dalcross and Inverness and a half hourly rail service with park and ride at the airport would be of great benefit. It would be logical to redouble the track from Dalcross to Inverness to allow more train paths, greater performance and operational flexibility. A station to serve Inverness Business and Retail Park would also be desirable.

Far North Enhancements

11.    The Far North Line is operating at capacity between Inverness and Dingwall during the peak of the operating day. The shortage of line capacity has meant that some of the new Invernet services have to wait for a path at Muir of Ord or Dingwall for 20 minutes. Whilst this is the optimum train plan, within the constraints of the single line, it is far from ideal. Consequently, there is an urgent need to restore the double track from Clachnaharry to Clunes and the Novar (Evanton) loop in order to increase capacity, operational performance and flexibility, as well as reducing journey times.

12.    A major constraint on the FNL is the Radio Electronic Token Block (RETB) signalling system. RETB is a low cost method of signalling lightly used railway lines. Now that traffic is increasing, RETB is inadequate. It suffers from poor radio reception and is not capable of being expanded. Trains have to stop to receive signals/tokens and, in some locations, drivers have to set their route manually. A new, reliable, and easily expandable signalling system is urgently required.

13.    A worthwhile small scheme, with infrastructure and signalling work, would be to construct a short chord line at Georgemas Junction to permit through working between the Thurso branch and the south, removing the need to reverse at Georgemas Jnc. Consideration to reopening the more conveniently located Halkirk station as an alternative to Georgemas Jnc should be sought with this option.

14.    The proposed construction of a Dornoch Link route between Tain and Golspie dates back to the 1980s and is an eminently reasonable aspiration for rail travellers from and to Caithness and coastal East Sutherland, being 26 miles shorter. A convincing business case has yet to be made. To this end we strongly support democratic and reasoned argument (such as the Association of Caithness Community Councils' petition to the Scottish Parliament) asking the SX to commission a study on the costs and benefits of speeding up services to all stations on this line.

15.    Other highly desirable measures to shorten the long journey times on the line would be to greatly improve line speed through level crossings, and to reinstate more loops to remove some of the longer sections. Examples would be reinstating Kinbrace and Altnabreac loops together with some on the Kyle line as the long sections there also influence the times at which FNL trains can run particularly south of Dingwall. Single lines are a really major capacity constraint to improving services in the Highlands.

16.    In summary, there is an urgent need to improve rail access to the fast expanding area around Inverness. This entails widening the lines from Perth and Aberdeen to provide more paths for both passenger and freight trains and to reduce the delays caused by single line sections. On the FNL, the pressing needs are twofold: more capacity for recent and proposed developments at the south end of the line and a thorough study of the whole line to address the excessive time it takes to get to and from Caithness and coastal East Sutherland.

Rolling Stock Provision

17.    New, "fit for purpose" passenger rolling stock needs to be made available to First ScotRail. The class 158 trains used on the FNL have had their seats crammed together for commuter use and have insufficient space for luggage and bicycles. The units are not adequately comfortable for four-hour, rural journeys. Neither do they address the unique one way bicycle requirement associated with the popular John O'Groats to Lands End challenge. Their early replacement with a train designed for the needs of long scenic routes should be an urgent priority.

18.    We agree with the Cities Review that the routes from Inverness to Aberdeen and Inverness to Edinburgh/Glasgow are inter-city routes which "need fast, effective connections to assist their economic well-being". To our mind, this should be services with an hourly frequency in HST2 levels of comfort and catering, matching the welcome standards currently provided to London by the First ScotRail sleeper and the GNER day train. We would urge the Executive to upgrade from the current class 170 Turbostars as soon as possible.

19.    We recommend that Network Rail be instructed to ascertain if the Turbostars (fitted with inner vestibule doors to keep out draughts) could be cleared for use on the FNL, for use at peak times.

Timetable Structure

20.    Timetables to aim for would be hourly from Inverness through Perth with the destination alternating between Glasgow and Edinburgh and a connecting service provided to the other city at Perth. Similarly, an hourly service from Inverness to Aberdeen has great potential with extra commuter trains at each end during the peak periods.

21.    This frequency of service would then provide the convenient connections onto the FNL for which we seek. There are at present some either un-robust or significantly long connections between the FNL and Aberdeen, Edinburgh & Glasgow services. There are some very poor connections, e.g. 1523 Aberdeen – Kyle of Lochlash service fails to connect with the last Wick service by 1 minute, with a 2 hour 24 minute interval from the previous arrival from Aberdeen.

22.    FoFNL commends the Highland Rail Partnership and the Scottish Executive for the ideas and the finance which have made possible the new Invernet services to Easter Ross and Badenoch. We are delighted too that the Executive has approved our request for a fourth train south from Wick at breakfast time incorporating the required Orkney ferry connection.

23.    We believe that the current seven hour interval between the 10.39 and 17.47 trains northbound is too great and that a fourth service should be provided leaving Inverness around 14.00 and providing a connection to the evening boat to Orkney. We also believe there is a potential weekend traveller market to stations north of Tain which could be tapped by a mid evening Fridays only train to Wick.

The Passenger Experience

24.    Access to stations, warm supervised waiting rooms, ticket, catering and toilet facilities together with comprehensible and timely information provision are all important for an enjoyable and efficient passenger experience. HITRANS are to be congratulated on improvements they have funded in the past few years.

25.    At Inverness, the main departure screen needs urgent replacement, the ticket office is too small and a regularly open, warm passenger lounge is required. We do not favour the suggestion to move the station away to a greater walking distance from the town centre. It is a great shame that, in this major regional and tourist hub, commercial pressures prevented the co-location of the bus station with the railway station and tourist office.

26.    At stations such as Dingwall, Nairn and Keith, which are only staffed for one shift, the toilets are not available at other times, and this can be a problem particularly if the trains are running late. We note that a recently announced park and ride at Banchory is to have staffed waiting facilities. Dingwall was recently found wanting with no access to a southbound shelter after 4pm. This is unacceptable.

27.    Bus connections are vital at many points and the experience for the passenger should be seamless with through ticketing. FOFNL would like to see improvements made to the Scrabster/Thurso station (NOT St George's Church) link, and similarly at Lairg station for Lairg and beyond, Tain for Dornoch, Fearn for the Seaboard villages. Adequate car parking for train passengers is required at all stations, including Inverness where it is insufficient.

Priorities

28.    The unsurprising conclusion is that the Highlands need major investment to cope with the expanding demands for rail passenger and freight traffic and to greatly improve the passenger experience. Given the distances involved, the area is eminently suitable to be at the forefront of the Executive's drive for the more environmentally friendly and sustainable transport provision which rail can bring.

29.    A high level of rail investment is also essential to underpin the considerable, sustained and welcome economic growth currently happening in the Inner Moray Firth area and so important to the Scottish economy.

30.    One priority is for greater capacity by removing many of the single line constraints. This demands major investment in track and signalling.

31.    The other priority is to provide comfortable "fit for purpose" rolling stock on all routes.

32.    Finally, journey times need to be significantly reduced on the Far North Line.