Scottish Government

SCOTTISH STRATEGIC RAIL STUDY: Working Paper 5: Option Development

NESTRANS

5.16 The SWOT analysis for the NESTRANS area identified that the area is and has been characterised by strong economic growth centred around Aberdeen. Key growth areas (both population and business/employment) are located along the rail axis to the north and south of Aberdeen. The ability of rail to link to these developments is important for the area.

5.17 The rail network through the area, however, consists of only a single line and 7 stations. Only 12% of the population live within 1km of a station and this proportion is forecast to fall. There are poor service levels (e.g. low frequencies) between the local stations and Aberdeen. These are key travel to work corridors. Local services are provided by long distance services stopping at local stations. Connectivity by rail between areas to the north and south of Aberdeen is difficult. There is little spare capacity in the system (either north or south of Aberdeen) except for a continuation of the current service patterns.

5.18 Consultation has shown businesses and residents view rail positively. Accessibility to the rail system from and to other modes plus issues surrounding local station facilities, particularly where the station is unmanned or manned part-time, are however considered deterrents to using the system.

5.19 The High Resource scenario for the NESTRANS area is presented in Table 21. The underlying theme to this scenario is a high quality, frequent local train service that is additional to and independent from the existing inter-regional express services. Rail would also increase its market penetration through an increased number of local stations. There would be a higher level of integration with other modes and a higher standard of customer service. Such a local service would be aimed at contributing towards the economic growth of the area and reducing traffic growth and road congestion in Aberdeen.

5.20 Given the fact that there are some capacity bottlenecks on the rail system within the NESTRANS area some localised but significant increases in capacity would be required to meet the aspirational targets set. Some projects can, however, be undertaken in the short term these are:

• New station at Kintore
• New station at Laurencekirk
• Ground side projects aimed at improving inter-modal access (e.g. car parks, bus bays, taxi facilities), information provision, security (e.g. CCTV) and general customer service. All of which contribute to making the rail system easier to use.

5.21 The remaining projects require the capacity increases associated with the proposed local train services before they can be implemented. A more detailed description of the projects, including their categorisation by generic strategy and which planning objectives they contribute towards is contained in Appendix A.

Table 21 NESTRANS High Resource Scenario

Tay Area

5.22 The SWOT analysis indicates that the Tay area exhibits similar physical (in rail terms) and operational characteristics to the NESTRANS area in that there is a sparse railway network in which long distance services provide a local service function. Service frequencies between local stations are therefore low. Potential passengers also experience some deterrence to using the railway system due to the low key facilities at some stations and the lack of integration of the rail network with the local bus networks.

5.23 A key issue is also the interaction between rail and land use, the growth areas of population and employment (within the Perth-Dundee corridor) are not well served by rail.

5.24 The High Resource scenario for the Tay area (see Table 22) is one in which high quality, frequent local train services would exist (additional to and independent from the existing inter-regional express services). There would be three components to the service, the primary one between Perth and Arbroath via Dundee whilst the other two are local services between Perth, Markinch and beyond and between St Andrews and Dundee. Significant interchange facilities would be provided at Perth, Dundee and Arbroath and new stations would be opened to increase market penetration. All local transport services would be integrated (timetabling and ticketing). A high standard of customer service will be provided.

5.25 The scenario will require the provision of substantial extra capacity in localised areas. However, certain projects could be implemented before the capacity enhancements are in place. These are as follows:

• New station at Dundee West
• Ground side projects aimed at improving inter-modal access (e.g. car parks, bus bays, taxi facilities), information provision, security (e.g. CCTV) and general customer service. All of which contribute to making the rail system easier to use.

5.26 A more detailed description of the projects, including their categorisation by generic strategy and which planning objectives they contribute towards is contained in Appendix A.

Table 22 Tay Area High Resource Scenario

Inter-Regional

5.27 The SWOT analysis identified that inter-regional movements are characterised in the main by journey times that are not competitive with the car or coach (except for the Glasgow to Edinburgh service). For external movements that are not on the East Coast Mainline (ECML) (e.g. Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol) journey times are also extended. There is also a lack of north-south journey integration through Glasgow, which can be a deterrent to rail use for journeys between the Perth Stirling area to England. Reliability of services and service frequencies are also issues within the west of Scotland on cross-border routes.

5.28 Accessibility to the long distance rail network by car or bus can be an issue in the congested urban areas. Additionally, the increasing competition provided by low cost airlines (cross border) and the coach and car (within Scotland) are eroding rail's market share of the long distance market.

5.29 The Inter-Regional High Resource package would aim to provide a far more attractive service than at present, with higher frequencies throughout, more routes and connections, higher service quality and journey times that are competitive with other modes. These characteristics are aimed at enabling the express railway system to attract many more customers, meet a higher proportion of the longer distance travel demand, and reflect the needs for cohesive development of in Scotland's major regional centres based around more effective use of public transport.

5.30 The new express network will include the following:

• Glasgow and Edinburgh:
  • Four express trains an hour between Glasgow and Edinburgh forming a quarter hourly service via Falkirk, serving Edinburgh Airport en route (with journey time improvements compared to the existing express service). 2 will continue on to / from the Ayr Coast from Glasgow via Paisley whilst the other two would continue on to / from Glasgow Airport.
  • An hourly semi fast service between Edinburgh and Glasgow via Shotts
  • A local quarterly service between Edinburgh and Glasgow via Bathgate with 2 continuing on to /from Helensburgh and 2 continuing on to / from Paisley Gilmour Street (see SESTRAN and SPT projects)
• A half hourly service from Glasgow and from Edinburgh to Dundee, with two trains per hour continuing on to / from Aberdeen. From both Edinburgh and Glasgow one of the two trains per hour will be fast and the other will be semi-fast.
• A half hourly semi fast service from Glasgow via Cumbernauld, Falkirk and Edinburgh Airport to Kirkcaldy
• An hourly service from Edinburgh to Perth via Kirkcaldy, continuing on to / from Inverness.

5.31 Links with England from Aberdeen / Dundee and other Scottish cities would be significantly improved. Several trains a day to / from Aberdeen would be provided by trains to / from England via Edinburgh, as an integral part of the main cross-border services. There will be hourly cross border services from Glasgow on the West Coast Mainline.

5.32 To facilitate the increased service frequencies the following facilitating infrastructure projects will be required:

• Edinburgh Waverley re-building
• Edinburgh Airport link
• Glasgow Cross City links
• Lenzie-Falkirk capacity upgrading

5.33 The construction of these facilitating projects allows the implementation of a package of measures that include the upgrading of the Edinburgh - Dundee - Aberdeen line for improved journey speed and the re-opening of the Bathgate to Airdrie line.

5.34 The infrastructure projects defined would be complemented by an increase in the number of trains in the express fleet, and greater quality for the whole fleet. These investments would allow significant increases in speed and seating capacity over all routes. The increases in line capacity would also enable very high levels of reliability to be the norm.

5.35 The improved level of provision would be supported by integral packages of better customer care, ticketing, information, and marketing, designed to maximize the opportunities for the express network. The express network would be integrated with stopping and suburban rail services and with bus services, and access to express service stations by car will also form a key element.

5.36 A more detailed description of the projects, including their categorisation by generic strategy and which planning objectives they contribute towards is contained in Appendix A.

Table 23 Inter-Regional High Resource Scenario