Chamber
Plenary, 05 Jun 2003
05 Jun 2003 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
Rural Rail Services
In any discussion about railways, I start by saying that the east coast main line ends at Aberdeen. I have had assurances in Parliament about that from the SRA. However, it does no harm to remind the SRA and everybody else, from time to time, that that is the case. I hope that the SRA will honour the assurances that it has given to me that that is the case.
Happily for me, the Aberdeen to Inverness line runs right through my constituency, with stations at Inverurie, Insch, Huntly and Keith. I hope that there will soon be a station at Kintore, when the Aberdeen cross-rail project finally comes to fruition after many years of having been on the go. It is moving forward. I am told that the level 4 costing process is almost complete—I do not understand entirely what that means, but it sounds like another milestone met and passed and I am all for it.
My local council has been supportive of rail travel. It has used public transport funds to install closed-circuit television in stations at Inverurie and Stonehaven and a car park extension at Inverurie and there are longer-term proposals for a transport interchange there, to add to the cycle lockers that are there already, which are a minor improvement but represent a start.
In passing, I say that it would be good if a lot more were done to implement the proposals for a better transport interchange in Aberdeen. Although that city benefits from having the train station and the bus station right next to each other, they are situated in a post-industrial wilderness that does nothing for people arriving in Aberdeen.
It is important to get freight off roads and on to rail, as one of the main benefits arising from a railway system relates to freight. Bulk pulp that arrives in Aberdeen harbour for the Inverurie paper mill gets transported to the paper mill by train, I am happy to say, but sadly the finished paper is not transported by train. That is because the railway industry could not meet the requirements of reliability and just-in-time delivery that the paper industry requires. There is a lot more to be done to sharpen up the rail industry's game if it is to get the business that is there to be had.
Rail is important for tourism. Railways take people into the heart of our main cities and are therefore the obvious form of transport for tourists to use. Foreign visitors arriving by air expect to be able to use public transport and I cringe when I am on the Aberdeen to Edinburgh line and I see stations that are deserted in the evenings and have no catering or luggage facilities. People who have paid handsome sums of money to travel by train expect good service and the situation makes me quite ashamed. It is not good enough. In that regard, I agree with the point that was made earlier about the lack of facilities for cycles.
In closing, I want to say that our internal rail system should be such that no one should be flying from a Scottish city to London. Our rail service should make that an irrelevant option.
Happily for me, the Aberdeen to Inverness line runs right through my constituency, with stations at Inverurie, Insch, Huntly and Keith. I hope that there will soon be a station at Kintore, when the Aberdeen cross-rail project finally comes to fruition after many years of having been on the go. It is moving forward. I am told that the level 4 costing process is almost complete—I do not understand entirely what that means, but it sounds like another milestone met and passed and I am all for it.
My local council has been supportive of rail travel. It has used public transport funds to install closed-circuit television in stations at Inverurie and Stonehaven and a car park extension at Inverurie and there are longer-term proposals for a transport interchange there, to add to the cycle lockers that are there already, which are a minor improvement but represent a start.
In passing, I say that it would be good if a lot more were done to implement the proposals for a better transport interchange in Aberdeen. Although that city benefits from having the train station and the bus station right next to each other, they are situated in a post-industrial wilderness that does nothing for people arriving in Aberdeen.
It is important to get freight off roads and on to rail, as one of the main benefits arising from a railway system relates to freight. Bulk pulp that arrives in Aberdeen harbour for the Inverurie paper mill gets transported to the paper mill by train, I am happy to say, but sadly the finished paper is not transported by train. That is because the railway industry could not meet the requirements of reliability and just-in-time delivery that the paper industry requires. There is a lot more to be done to sharpen up the rail industry's game if it is to get the business that is there to be had.
Rail is important for tourism. Railways take people into the heart of our main cities and are therefore the obvious form of transport for tourists to use. Foreign visitors arriving by air expect to be able to use public transport and I cringe when I am on the Aberdeen to Edinburgh line and I see stations that are deserted in the evenings and have no catering or luggage facilities. People who have paid handsome sums of money to travel by train expect good service and the situation makes me quite ashamed. It is not good enough. In that regard, I agree with the point that was made earlier about the lack of facilities for cycles.
In closing, I want to say that our internal rail system should be such that no one should be flying from a Scottish city to London. Our rail service should make that an irrelevant option.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Trish Godman):
Lab
The final item of business today is a members' business debate on motion S2M-89, in the name of Jamie Stone, on rural rail services. The debate will be concl...
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes that the contract to operate Scotland's internal rail services over the next seven years is shortly to be awarded; recognises that ...
Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD):
LD
It is a great pleasure to speak in the first Liberal Democrat members' business debate of the new session of Parliament.I was brought up beside a railway lin...
Mr Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD):
I am grateful that the member has given way so early in his speech. He will share the concerns that I felt when I visited the Scottish Borders Tourist Board ...
Mr Stone:
LD
Our new member has already learned the parliamentary arts. I back his call—he is correct.We need to get still more freight off our road system and on to rail...
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con):
Con
Will the member give way?
Mr Stone:
LD
No, I am sorry. I have only seven minutes and I think that I am in my last one.The ScotRail staff do their best, but I fear that they might be hampered by th...
Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
We can hardly say the words "rural" and "trains" without talking about the Borders railway line again. It is almost three years to the day since the Parliame...
Mr Stone:
LD
I acknowledge the passion with which Christine Grahame speaks. However, will she explain why the Borders rail link was not in the SNP's election manifesto?
Christine Grahame:
SNP
I am glad that Jamie Stone read the SNP's manifesto, which did not refer to specific lines. What we have said about the Borders railway line is that we will ...
Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD) rose—
LD
Christine Grahame:
SNP
I cannot take an intervention as I have little time.
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Lab
The member is in her last minute.
Christine Grahame:
SNP
The line is proposed to be single track. That is a serious issue, because having a single-track line with only passing loops pretty well excludes the possibi...
Mike Rumbles:
LD
The member referred to me. Will she take an intervention?
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Lab
The member is winding up.
Christine Grahame:
SNP
Going cheapskate at this stage will mean expense later. I would like the minister to consider the additional cost of sophisticated signalling if the line is ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Lab
Many members wish to speak in the debate—
Mike Rumbles:
LD
What about the SNP pledge?
Christine Grahame:
SNP
Your—
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Lab
Excuse me. Many members wish to speak, so I will keep speeches strictly to three minutes.
Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab):
Lab
I congratulate Jamie Stone on instigating the debate, which is on a subject in which I take a close interest. All my Mallaig cousins worked on the railway an...
David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con):
Con
As this debate is my first opportunity to speak in the new session, I congratulate the Deputy Presiding Officer on her new office. The minister is not in the...
Mr Purvis:
Will the member take an intervention?
David Mundell:
Con
No, I cannot. I have very little time and no minister.I will concentrate on Lockerbie station, which is on a main line—many rural communities are served from...
Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green):
Green
I apologise for having to leave early, but I have a train to catch. I will read the minister's comments with great interest in the Official Report.The fact t...
Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP):
SNP
I congratulate Jamie Stone on securing the debate. A couple of years ago, we enjoyed a congenial hour or so on the Great North Eastern Railway rail service f...
Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green):
Green
Will Fergus Ewing take an intervention?
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
No, I am sorry. I will in another debate when there is more time.This week, I received a letter from the Friends of the West Highland Line. I was appalled to...