It has been revealed that average rail journeys on the Highland Mainline to Edinburgh are just 6 minutes faster than they were in 2007, despite the Scottish Government promising to reduce these by 45 minutes.
Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP, Murdo Fraser, has bemoaned the slow rate of progress and has called on the Scottish Government to match their rhetoric with action.
The AA’s route planner estimates that it takes just 59 minutes to get from Perth to Edinburgh via car, compared to a 2015 rail average of 1 hour 15 minutes. This does not compare favourably with other routes, for example, Swansea to Cardiff by rail, which is an identical distance, takes less than one hour and a similar journey on the continent, such as that between Ghent and Brussels, takes just 30 minutes.
The Scottish Government have stated their ambition for journeys by rail to match those taken by road, this ambition appears to be a long way from coming to fruition.
Commenting Murdo Fraser MSP said:
“It’s taken 8 long years for the Scottish Government to reduce average journey times by 6 minutes between Edinburgh and Inverness.
“If this speed of progress continues it will be a long time before the Scottish Government achieves their ambition to reduce journey times by 45 minutes.
“This isn’t good enough and it is high time the SNP matched their rhetoric with results.
“Rural areas particularly those in Highland Perthshire are poorly served by digital and physical infrastructure and the Scottish Government is failing to equip rural Scotland for 21st century living.
“If we are serious about creating jobs and investment for all of Scotland, not just the central belt, then there needs to be greater urgency and speedier progress in making sure public transport is viable in rural locations.”