Hansard

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, who would I be to break that consensus? I agree that the Airdrie to Bathgate rail line is vital. It will be not just a link between North Lanarkshire and West Lothian, but a vital link between North Lanarkshire and Edinburgh, between West Lothian and Glasgow, and even between Helensburgh and Edinburgh. It is welcome not just as a local rail improvement, but as a vital component of a national improvement in rail.

I was shocked to discover that there is no direct public transport link between Airdrie and Bathgate. The journey takes more than 40 minutes and requires passengers to change buses at least once. The new line will solve that local problem by providing local public transport as well as being part of a national scheme. It is very welcome.

The Airdrie-Bathgate Railway and Linked Improvements Bill Committee did an excellent job and I join others in paying tribute to Phil Gallie and the other members of the committee. The committee's report mentions local communities' concerns that they were not fully involved in the consultation process. The committee did an excellent job in identifying those concerns and taking steps so that communities can feel that their concerns will be addressed in future. In particular, the development of local community forums is welcome, but they must be taken seriously by all sides. It is great to have such structures, but we need commitment to make them work.

The committee's report mentioned the commitments to improve walking and cycling access to the railway stations and the replacement of national cycle route 75, which runs along the old Airdrie to Bathgate line. Again, the committee has done an excellent job in highlighting people's concern about that. As someone who has used the cycle route, I know that it is a wonderful resource for Scotland. It is a great route and a joy to cycle on. It is well used by cyclists and walkers, not just as a transport link but as a vital recreational facility.

I share the concern of cycling groups such as Sustrans that there is no impetus on the part of the developer quickly to secure land for an alternative cycle route. It is vital that the national cycle network does not lie broken for years and that we have the investment to ensure that we have a good cycle route for local people and as part of the link between Glasgow and Edinburgh, although it might not be quite as great as the existing cycle route. The concern is that the developer has not been ready enough to grasp the nettle of what putting in a high-quality cycle route will mean to fill the gap that the replacement of rail lines on the existing cycle route will leave.

I share the committee's concerns about access to railway stations. In West Lothian, 25 per cent of the population live within 1 mile of the new railway line. That presents a huge opportunity for that large part of the population to access the railway without having to go by car. However, they will not be able to do that unless the proper investment is made in walking, cycling and off-road routes to take people to the railway stations.

Having multimodal travel systems is great. When 25 per cent of West Lothian's population live within 1 mile of the line, why should the multimodal system mean taking the car to the station, when people could walk, cycle or take a bus? Proper integration of the bus network with the new scheme is needed.

The committee has drawn out all those points. We want the developer to exert effort to secure some of those facilities. When we travel through Croy on the existing Edinburgh to Glasgow line, we see a mass of parked cars, because people drive to Croy, drop off their cars and take the train into Glasgow. Those cars are in the car park and on waste ground and they jam up local residents' parking. That is not only a transport problem, but a problem for residents. We do not want the new stations on the Airdrie to Bathgate line to face similar problems because people who want to use the new stations and to take the train have no option but to drive to those stations. We need to ensure that effort is made to secure the alternative means of transport to those stations.

The project is great, but there is more to do. The committee has done a good job of highlighting some of the problems in the scheme's development. The project can go further. Janis Hughes was right to highlight the need for crossrail to connect into the system, to allow further access to the east for people in the west, as part of a wider vision of the train system. That also means ensuring that the communities in Plains and Blackridge, which Karen Whitefield talked about, have access to the line's benefits. People should not just see eight trains an hour whizz through at the bottom of their garden; they should be able to access those trains and facilities.

The project is great. I congratulate the Scottish Executive on introducing it and on securing the £300 million of expenditure. However, more has still to be done if we want to secure the maximum benefit from the scheme.