The Herald, 31 Jan 2024

Action needed on rail line

We at the Friends of the Far North Line heartily concur with Kate Forbes' analysis of the problems faced by the Highlands being left behind in terms of investment. Ms Forbes states that the region "desperately needs decent roads, good schools and reliable ferries in order to thrive"; to those we would add railways.

The Scottish Government has plans for very significant modal shift from road to rail as part of its commitment to Net Zero. In order to achieve this the region requires railways that are better than the slow, single-track lines which currently serve most of the region. To run a reliable and attractive service for passengers and freight, trains need to be able to pass each other at many places along the line. On the Far North Line the gaps between some of these "passing loops" are so great that if a train just misses the chance to pass one coming the other way, because it's running a little late, it may have to wait 40 minutes before proceeding. The "intercity" routes from Inverness to Aberdeen or the Central Belt are little better.

There is currently no sign of the Government addressing this. We hope this will change very soon.

Ian Budd, Convener, Friends of the Far North Line, Bishopbriggs.

Trains could be so much better

I fully support Ian Budd (Letters, January 31) in his views on the Far North Railway Lines and his comments on the "Inter City" lines between Aberdeen, Inverness and Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling. I would add to that my great concern about the West Highland lines, to Oban, Fort William and Mallaig. All these railway lines are vastly underfunded and have been since I was working in the West Highlands for British Rail just before rail privatisation in 1994.

Just last year I had the experience of travelling, by rail, from Zurich in Switzerland to Tirano in Italy over the Bernina Pass. Superb scenery, comparable with Scotland but the train service is so much better, with modern, comfortable trains that have large observation windows. We really should be ashamed of ourselves here in Scotland; we could, and should, do so much better.

It would, of course, be easier to do better if prominent politicians, such as Kate Forbes, were to travel by train. She does excellent work in supporting the Highlands but if she were to use the train for that long journey from Dingwall, or at least Inverness, to Edinburgh, it would take away some of that stress of driving on the A9. The "HST" trains that run on that line are very comfy. We need to get more people travelling by train, rather than by road and we need our politicians to be in that modal shift too.