Chamber
Plenary, 28 Mar 2007
28 Mar 2007 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
Airdrie-Bathgate Railway and Linked Improvements Bill
Like many members, I am delighted to have reached the final stage of the legislative process and I look forward to the reopening of the Airdrie to Bathgate line. It has been a bumpy ride at times.
I thank the private bill committee members. Phil Gallie ably chaired the committee. I have listened to him for many years and I am sure that he will be pleased to know that he is still many miles from me politically. However, on this occasion, he has done my constituents a great service, for which I thank him. I wish him well in his retirement and future endeavours.
I am grateful to the other committee members who took on the bill. It came on top of their usual busy workload, but they listened attentively to all—particularly me and my constituents—who made presentations to them about Blackridge station. I thank Janis Hughes in particular and wish her all the best for the future. I have frequently had the pleasure of working with her on committees and I am sorry that that will not continue in the next session. I commend Network Rail for its work and look forward to working with it during the rebuilding process.
The idea of reopening the section of the line came after discussions between politicians and officials in West Lothian and North Lanarkshire. At first, even the Scottish Executive was a little reluctant to make a commitment to it. However, the Executive saw the success of the Edinburgh to Bathgate route, which my Labour colleagues on Lothian Regional Council bravely reopened, and the results of the central Scotland transport corridor study, and saw that there was a strong case for reopening the section. Therefore, it responded accordingly.
There was no long-running campaign with romantic attachments to a previous era; instead, a hard-headed business decision was taken. As many members have said, the line will allow people in West Lothian and North Lanarkshire to access jobs and education in the east and the west. It will allow businesses to move out of the hotspots of Edinburgh and Glasgow and still attract workforces, and it will benefit people at stops in between.
There are many good things to be said about the reopening of the link, which I am sure we will hear. However, I want to mention a couple of outstanding niggles.
I was pleased that the Scottish Executive and Network Rail saw the sense of pushing on with the dual tracking of the Uphall to Bathgate section prior to the bill being passed. I am impatient to see that work finished when I pass workers just outside Uphall station, but I say to the minister that I am not nearly as impatient as my constituents, who are experiencing a dreadful service between Edinburgh and Bathgate. I have had numerous discussions with First ScotRail about the delays, and particularly about cancellations on the Bathgate part of the journey. I hope that the minister will use his influence to speak to First ScotRail and ensure that it keeps to the contract agreements that it has signed, which will allow people to get to work on time, fulfil family commitments and so on.
Members will not be surprised about my second niggle. We will not agree today to stations at Blackridge and Plains. I have referred to the beginnings of the project. I accept that the proposal was purely that there should be a line between Airdrie and Bathgate; stations in between were considered only after local intervention. However, given the housing growth in West Lothian and North Lanarkshire, it would have been a wasted opportunity not to propose additional stations.
I said that reopening the line was a hard-headed business decision. I contend that a station at Blackridge would tick all the appropriate boxes. There would be a good-sized catchment area; there are few other public transport options there, as the bus service is poor; and the community is growing. I have a gnawing suspicion that train people do not really like stations, as they stop trains running, that someone thought that it would be a good idea to offer us two of the four stations, and that we would settle for that and run away. They did not appreciate how strongly the communities of Blackridge, Greenrigg and Plains felt.
I thank the private bill committee members. Phil Gallie ably chaired the committee. I have listened to him for many years and I am sure that he will be pleased to know that he is still many miles from me politically. However, on this occasion, he has done my constituents a great service, for which I thank him. I wish him well in his retirement and future endeavours.
I am grateful to the other committee members who took on the bill. It came on top of their usual busy workload, but they listened attentively to all—particularly me and my constituents—who made presentations to them about Blackridge station. I thank Janis Hughes in particular and wish her all the best for the future. I have frequently had the pleasure of working with her on committees and I am sorry that that will not continue in the next session. I commend Network Rail for its work and look forward to working with it during the rebuilding process.
The idea of reopening the section of the line came after discussions between politicians and officials in West Lothian and North Lanarkshire. At first, even the Scottish Executive was a little reluctant to make a commitment to it. However, the Executive saw the success of the Edinburgh to Bathgate route, which my Labour colleagues on Lothian Regional Council bravely reopened, and the results of the central Scotland transport corridor study, and saw that there was a strong case for reopening the section. Therefore, it responded accordingly.
There was no long-running campaign with romantic attachments to a previous era; instead, a hard-headed business decision was taken. As many members have said, the line will allow people in West Lothian and North Lanarkshire to access jobs and education in the east and the west. It will allow businesses to move out of the hotspots of Edinburgh and Glasgow and still attract workforces, and it will benefit people at stops in between.
There are many good things to be said about the reopening of the link, which I am sure we will hear. However, I want to mention a couple of outstanding niggles.
I was pleased that the Scottish Executive and Network Rail saw the sense of pushing on with the dual tracking of the Uphall to Bathgate section prior to the bill being passed. I am impatient to see that work finished when I pass workers just outside Uphall station, but I say to the minister that I am not nearly as impatient as my constituents, who are experiencing a dreadful service between Edinburgh and Bathgate. I have had numerous discussions with First ScotRail about the delays, and particularly about cancellations on the Bathgate part of the journey. I hope that the minister will use his influence to speak to First ScotRail and ensure that it keeps to the contract agreements that it has signed, which will allow people to get to work on time, fulfil family commitments and so on.
Members will not be surprised about my second niggle. We will not agree today to stations at Blackridge and Plains. I have referred to the beginnings of the project. I accept that the proposal was purely that there should be a line between Airdrie and Bathgate; stations in between were considered only after local intervention. However, given the housing growth in West Lothian and North Lanarkshire, it would have been a wasted opportunity not to propose additional stations.
I said that reopening the line was a hard-headed business decision. I contend that a station at Blackridge would tick all the appropriate boxes. There would be a good-sized catchment area; there are few other public transport options there, as the bus service is poor; and the community is growing. I have a gnawing suspicion that train people do not really like stations, as they stop trains running, that someone thought that it would be a good idea to offer us two of the four stations, and that we would settle for that and run away. They did not appreciate how strongly the communities of Blackridge, Greenrigg and Plains felt.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Mr George Reid):
NPA
The next item of business is a debate on motion S2M-5760, in the name of Phil Gallie, that the Parliament agrees that the Airdrie-Bathgate Railway and Linked...
Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con):
Con
How strange life can be: here we are debating legislation in a building that neither you, Presiding Officer, nor I wanted, in a Parliament that you fought fo...
Janis Hughes (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab):
Lab
I thank Mr Gallie for taking an intervention. Does he agree that, although the Airdrie to Bathgate link will vastly improve rail services across that part of...
Phil Gallie:
Con
I could not agree more with Janis Hughes. It is a pity that she will not be here to fight for crossrail in the next session of Parliament. I hope that the me...
The Minister for Transport (Tavish Scott):
LD
Such a young Parliament, so many historic events. I pay tribute to Phil Gallie's years of public service. I understand that he was with Cunninghame District ...
Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP):
SNP
I, too, wish Phil Gallie well for the future. His was a voice that was always heard in this Parliament—albeit sometimes from a sedentary position. We never h...
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
You have one minute.
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
Thank you very much. I have no complaints about that whatsoever.The minister trespassed somewhat more widely than the confines of the Airdrie-Bathgate Railwa...
Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con):
Con
Consensus is breaking out. I begin with the retiring members who have spoken today. Phil Gallie has been a quiet, mild-mannered man all the way through his p...
Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab):
Lab
I am delighted that the last speech that I will make in this Parliament prior to dissolution is on the Airdrie to Bathgate rail line. Mary Mulligan, Bristow ...
Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
I agree with much of what the member says, but does she agree that it reinforces the lunacy of closing the accident and emergency department at Monklands hos...
Karen Whitefield:
Lab
We are talking about a railway line today, and there will be more to discuss during the election campaign than accident and emergency services. However, my v...
Mark Ballard (Lothians) (Green):
Green
Fergus Ewing and David Davidson began their speeches by talking about the consensus that has broken out in the chamber. When they are feeling so consensual, ...
Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab):
Lab
Like many members, I am delighted to have reached the final stage of the legislative process and I look forward to the reopening of the Airdrie to Bathgate l...
Phil Gallie:
Con
I understand the point that Mary Mulligan makes about train companies not liking trains stopping. They think that too many stops reduce the number of custome...
Mrs Mulligan:
Lab
Absolutely. I have always contended that, with a bit of imaginative thought, Network Rail could have planned a timetable that would have allowed that, partic...
Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP):
SNP
On behalf of my constituents in the Lothians, I thank the committee for its diligence. It has served the people of West Lothian and Lanarkshire well in its d...
Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD):
LD
Did the shadow transport minister visit Plains as well?
Fiona Hyslop:
SNP
I am sorry. I did not quite catch what the member said. It is important that we recognise—
Jeremy Purvis rose—
LD
Fiona Hyslop:
SNP
Sorry. I will give way.
Jeremy Purvis:
LD
Did the shadow transport minister visit Plains as well?
Fiona Hyslop:
SNP
I think that there is an outstanding invitation. I represent the Lothians. Not only did Fergus Ewing visit Blackridge, he visited the Avon gorge, which has o...
Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD):
LD
With regard to how strategic a view the Scottish National Party takes of this and other transport projects, the fact that the shadow transport minister visit...
Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab):
Lab
I agree with many previous speakers, including Karen Whitefield and Mary Mulligan, that the project will bring economic, environmental, social and educationa...
Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
At the risk of repetition, I repeat what I said last week in the chamber: as a resident of Ayr, I vouch that Phil Gallie is the best member of Parliament tha...
Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab):
Lab
Does the member agree that the line will also very much benefit the people of Coatbridge?
Alex Neil:
SNP
Of course I do. Indeed, that will be a very important consideration, particularly over the next five weeks. This project, which will involve public sector in...
Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con):
Con
I support this much-wanted bill, which provides for the reopening of the former Airdrie to Bathgate line by re-laying missing track between Bathgate and Drum...
Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD):
LD
I congratulate the committee, which has clearly done a good job, and which, by studying the issues intensively, has done what committees are supposed to do. ...