Chamber and committees

We will only know the true cost per mile of the A9 once we have taken it to the market, however our current estimates are in the region of £19million per mile, rising to £37million per mile once risk, optimism bias and inflation are included. This produces a £3billion overall estimate (80 miles x £37million). However, this can only be an approximate estimate at this stage in the process.

The Scottish Government has considered opportunities to provide services between Carlisle and Glasgow/Edinburgh but found that a ScotRail service could not be supported due to the cost of providing this service, the capacity constraints on the route for additional train services and the anticipated level of patronage. However, the Scottish Government is committed to improving connectivity to promote sustainable economic growth and is willing to review the proposal should circumstances change.

The assessment criteria for the £30 million Scottish Stations Fund, which aims to lever in third party funding to provide new and improved stations, covers both rural and urban communities.

All proposals for stations should firstly be directed to the relevant Regional Transport Partnership (RTP) to assess how it fits with their local and regional transport strategies. If appropriate, the RTP will undertake an appraisal to determine the most suitable transport options for the area. The scope and level of detail required in the appraisal is determined by the nature and scale of the transport problems and the impacts of the potential transport options in a particular area.

Transport Scotland officials are always available to offer advice and guidance on the proportionate application of Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance, if requested.

Funding has already been approved through the Stations Fund for improvements at both urban and rural stations benefiting passengers using ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper services.

Through the £212 million investment in the replacement Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, NHS Dumfries and Galloway will discharge the conditions associated with the planning consent for the new hospital, including required improvements to a major trunk road roundabout and road realignments to allowances to the hospital.

Further planning conditions have stipulated that improvements are made to some other existing parts of the road network to accommodate traffic impacts of the new hospital and agreement has been reached that a commuted sum of £220k from the health board for these works would be vested in Dumfries and Galloway Council to allow these works to be completed.

Between 2007-08 and 2015-16, we have spent over £7 billion in our Rail Network, including 76km of new railways delivered and 13 new stations opened.
The budgeted spend on rail in 2016-17 totals a further £0.75 million. The totals for each year are as follows;

Source: Years 2007-08 – 2015-16: Transport Scotland Annual Report and Accounts, Year 2016-17: published Scottish Budget

Transport Scotland meets regularly with Scotland Transerv to review the timetable for the completion of the works and is currently looking for opportunities to accelerate the programme for completion.

Investing in rail is a key priority of the Scottish Government, with over £7 billion committed since 2007 to support Network Rail’s operation, maintenance, renewal and enhancement of the rail infrastructure, and to deliver the economic and social benefits of the ScotRail franchise contract across the full network. This core investment is not disaggregated to individual route levels.

With respect to improvements between Kilmarnock and Dumfries, additional capacity has been provided as patronage levels have grown with longer trains operating at peak periods, and station facilities have been enhanced along the route. Further improvements for passengers are also planned from 2017, with the introduction of refurbished rolling stock and additional weekday and weekend services.

The Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 places statutory responsibility for local roads, including structures, improvements, maintenance and repair with local roads authorities. The Scottish Government has allocated over £10.3 billion to local government in 2016-17 and it is for individual councils to allocated funding based on local needs and priorities, including funding for road repairs.

In August 2016, Audit Scotland reported a significant variation in road condition among councils. For example, in 2014-15, the proportion of local roads in acceptable condition ranged from 44% in Argyll and Bute Council to 79% in Orkney Islands Council.

From a national perspective the Scottish Government continues to co-fund the Roads Collaboration Programme and uses that forum to actively engage with councils to explore opportunities for the sharing of services for road maintenance activities.

Transport Scotland will lead a multi modal study assessing transport constraints and opportunities in the Borders, including examining the case for extending the railway. Procurement of the study is currently under way, funding will come from existing budgets and it is currently expected that the study will be complete by the end of 2017. As this work is at an early scoping stage it is not currently possible to estimate costs or timescales.

The Scottish Government has had discussions with the UK Government regarding the Scottish Minister’s aspirations in relation to the specification of cross-border rail franchises, including the Inter City East Coast, Inter City West Coast, TransPennine Express and CrossCountry Franchises.

Additionally, Transport Scotland officials engage directly with cross-border train operating companies to ensure that Scotland’s interests continue to be met over the course of the Franchise.

Most recently, in response to UK Government’s consultation on the future of the Inter City West Coast franchise, the Scottish Government made clear the aspiration for safe, fast, frequent, reliable, punctual services connecting Scotland to London and intermediate locations, with on-board facilities and fares that attract and retain passengers, underpinned by the strategic aims including enhanced connectivity between the main centres of business on each side of the Border served by this route for the mutual benefit of the Scottish and UK economy, and to maintain and if possible, improve the connectivity for intermediate communities, especially those where connectivity has worsened as a consequence of previous timetable changes.