Liz Smith, Scottish Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland & Fife has accused the First Minster of forgetting his 2008 pledge to make improvements to the line between Inverness and Edinburgh and his specific commitment to reduce the train time by 35 minutes by 2012.
The First Minster announced today that £170m will be invested in the Aberdeen to Inverness line over the next five years.
Liz Smith, Scottish Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland & Fife said:
“It is welcome news that the Scottish Government has announced that they are to make almost £170m in improvements to the line between Inverness and Aberdeen.
“However, the First Minsters track record on rail commitments is not good. In particular, in August 2008 the First Minister promised voters north of the central belt that the SNP Scottish Government was in negotiation with network rail to make improvements to the line between Inverness and Edinburgh and made the specific commitment to reduce the train time by 35 minutes by 2012. We are still waiting to see any progress on this pledge.
“It is a pretty shocking indictment that under the SNP many rail journeys in Scotland take longer than they did in Victorian times. The First Minster must answer why the SNP Scottish Government are bringing forward no improvements to the line between Inverness and Edinburgh.
“People across the North increasingly feel that the SNP have developed a central belt bias which is seeing the need of the communities north of the central belt ignored. Scotland deserves a first class rail network - not the second class ticket Alex Salmond and the SNP Scottish Government offer.”