Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Meeting date: Thursday, April 25, 2024

Official Report 932KB pdf

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Railway Stations (North of Central Belt)

I ask those leaving the gallery to do so as quickly and as quietly as possible. The next item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-12727, in the name of Liam Kerr, on the need for new railway stations north of the central belt. The debate will be concluded without any question being put. I invite members who wish to participate to press their request-to-speak buttons.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament welcomes the recent Nestrans report that recommends that the potential new railway stations at Cove and Newtonhill should undergo a detailed appraisal; notes the view that there is a desperate need for these communities to be linked up with the rail network after, it considers, years of transport funding being directed to the Central Belt; understands that over 1,550 people have signed a petition calling on the stations to be opened, and thanks the Campaign for North East Rail and local residents for their tireless campaigning on this issue.

12:47  

I thank colleagues from across the chamber who have supported my motion.

In 1956, the communities of Cove and Newtonhill lost their stations, but in recent years, both places have expanded exponentially, such that Newtonhill now has a population of more than 3,000 and Cove has a population of more than 8,000. Surrounding areas, including the lovely new town at Chapelton, swell those numbers even further, yet Newtonhill remains connected to Aberdeen principally by the A92, and Cove by the A956. There is a far-from-regular or cheap, and sometimes unreliable, bus service, which takes nearly an hour to get from Newtonhill to Aberdeen, or at least half an hour from Cove.

It is no surprise that, when it comes to travelling between Newtonhill or Cove and Aberdeen, the number of people who use a car is higher than the national average, as hard-working families are forced to rely on their cars to commute, to get to school or college and to see family and friends. Now, they are faced with a massively unpopular low-emission zone in Aberdeen, random new bus gates and new parking charges when they get into the city.

The Campaign for North East Rail’s Jordan Jack called it right when he said:

“Building new stations for Cove and Newtonhill will give residents a sustainable travel choice while halving travel time and will open new economic opportunities.”

That is indeed so. Let us think of the environmental benefits as fewer people drive to the city and, instead, jump on a train that takes them right to the heart of Union Street, where we so badly need to increase footfall. That would decrease car use in a context in which the Scottish Government acknowledges that it is not really sure how to reduce car kilometres by 20 per cent, and it would help to achieve what I think the ill-thought-through LEZ will not.

Let us think of the economic benefits of more people looking to live in those fine communities, while also working, shopping and schooling in the city. As the North East of Scotland Transport Partnership points out, the two new stations could service thousands of potential passengers each day, travelling to Dundee and the central belt. Russell Borthwick, the chief executive of the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, told me just this week that the proposals to open Cove and Newtonhill stations would allow many people to access Aberdeen city centre for work and leisure at a time when measures to restrict car access continue to be extended.

Just yesterday, the Railway Industry Association, which represents the vital supply chain within the rail industry, told me that greater investment in the rail network would help to secure more jobs for the north-east and beyond and, thus, more spending in north-east communities. The association reminded me that railway industry jobs have among the best training and highest standards in the United Kingdom.

Of course, there is the health and wellbeing angle, as more people use sustainable public transport and active travel. Indeed, the Nestrans report specifically highlights opportunities to provide facilities such as secure cycle parking, cycle hire and electric vehicle charging points.

It is important to ensure that those communities want new stations, and 95 per cent of Cove residents and 90 per cent of Newtonhill residents who took part in a 2022 study say that they would like to see a station in their area, and almost half of the population who responded to the study said that new stations at Cove and Newtonhill would encourage them to use the train more.

The petition that I launched last summer in both localities has more than 1,500 signatures. Even Scottish National Party councillor Miranda Radley agrees. When she was campaigning to get elected to the council in 2022, she said:

“A train station in Cove just makes sense”,

and promised in her literature that, if elected, she would help to bring forward the delivery of a station in Cove. I have recently written to her and to the council leader, Christian Allard, to ask how they have enacted and are delivering on that promise. To date, I have not had an answer, but I look forward to receiving that promptly.

The support is there but what about the practicalities? The Nestrans report quotes £40 million for two stations. That is a lot of money, although it is only about 10 per cent of the cost of two new SNP ferries. However, the people of the north-east well remember that in 2016, the SNP Government promised us that it would invest £200 million in north-east rail. Specifically, Nestrans notes that that funding

“may be an opportunity to introduce new stations on the line between Aberdeen and Laurencekirk.”

Does Liam Kerr have any confidence that the £200 million will actually be spent by 2026, as was the commitment?

I am not sure that I do have confidence in that because only 3 per cent of the funding has been delivered so far, about eight years on. The SNP Government has recently suggested that the pledge is under review, so perhaps the minister can allay those concerns in her closing speech.

However, the minister will be pleased to note that Nestrans also suggests that

“external funding may be available for this package subject to the funding application process”

and that both stations are

“on an existing line and would be serviced using existing services and therefore operational costs are likely to be low.”

The people of the north-east have watched, somewhat perplexed, as the likes of Reston in the Borders, East Linton in East Lothian and Levenmouth in Fife have got excellent new lines and stations. When SNP Angus Council decided to snub the opportunity of £18 million of free money to extend the Caledonian railway in Brechin, people began to suspect that that was yet another central belt thing.

However, the Government has a chance to allay those fears. The people of the north-east have spoken, with more than 1,500 local people signing my petition. Nestrans is on board, and Cove Rangers, whose team is upgrading its stadium to increase capacity, backs the petition. We know the environmental, economic and social benefits that proper public transport and stations would bring. The Parliament has shown its support through signatures to my motion, and there is cross-party support.

I will finish with the words of Keith Moorhouse, resident of Cove and chair of Cove Rangers. Speaking about those two stations specifically, he said:

“It is a no-brainer, the more and more rail links you put in and the more options you give people to travel the better for everyone”,

and

“just get a move on”.

Amen to that, Presiding Officer.

We move to the open debate.

12:55  

I thank Liam Kerr for bringing the motion to the chamber. I think that we will have a fairly good debate around all of this today.

I should probably put on the record that I was the chair of Nestrans between 2007 and 2011. I am always pleased to see the good work that emanates from the offices of Nestrans, and I pay tribute to the people of the organisation for the report.

During the time of the SNP Government, we have seen new stations in the north-east that have made a real difference to the communities of the region. Although there was some scepticism about it, the station at Laurencekirk opened and patronage was—if I remember rightly—more than 80 per cent greater than had been anticipated from the reports. I am pleased, too, that we have recently seen the station at Kintore open, which, again, has made a real difference to people.

Liam Kerr is right to highlight the communities of Newtonhill and Cove, which, as he has said, have grown in numbers. However, there are other opportunities in the north-east. I put on the record my thanks to the Campaign for North East Rail for the work that it has done. It has looked not only at the opportunities for new stations on existing lines, but also at what can be done to reopen the lines north—the Formartine and Buchan lines—that should never have been closed, just as the stations at Cove and Newtonhill should not have been closed in 1956, as Mr Kerr has mentioned.

The Government has put a huge amount of money into the infrastructure of the north-east. We have the western peripheral route, thanks to the investment from the SNP Government, and we have the investments that I have mentioned in relation to Kintore and Laurencekirk. To our advantage has been the opening of other stations on the Aberdeen to Inverness line, such as the one at Inverness airport, which opened recently.

Whether we be from the north-east or not, we should all take cognisance of the investment that the Scottish Government has made in our railways. The banner headline of the most recent Railwatch magazine, which was published this month, reads “Scotland shows the way”. Scotland does show the way, with five successful rail station openings in the past three years: Reston opened in 2022, Inverness airport and East Linton in 2023 and, later this year, we will see the opening of the line to Cameron Bridge and Levenmouth, with new stations there.

Scotland does show the way, but we could do so much better for the north-east, for the folk of Cove, Newtonhill and maybe even Kittybrewster and Bucksburn, if we had more money to spend on infrastructure. Sadly, we have seen a massive reduction in our capital budget from the UK Tory Government, which is money that could be spent on Cove and Newtonhill, but unfortunately is not there.

To end on a lighter note, we in the north-east of Scotland recognise the growth in some of those areas and the difficulties that the closing of railways has caused in the past. It is time to invest in our infrastructure and to look at what can be done not only in Cove and Newtonhill but—as with the Borders railway and Levenmouth station—to open up new lines to the north of Aberdeen.

13:00  

I thank my colleague and train geek—I know that he will not mind me calling him that—Liam Kerr for bringing the debate to the chamber. This debate is vital for the people of the north-east to force the SNP Government to look beyond the needs of the central belt and towards those of my constituents in the north-east. Perhaps with the SNP’s new-found freedom, having dropped the Green extremists, we can hope for more.

My constituents are all too aware of poor access to railway services in the north-east, whether that relates to the frequency of trains, the accessibility of stations, the reliability of services or the time that it takes to make a journey. All those areas require improvement, and I welcome the valuable work of bodies such as Nestrans, which is putting forward sensible solutions to the challenges of public transport. I would like to know the minister’s response to its excellent preliminary appraisal of the Aberdeen to Laurencekirk multimodal transport corridor.

We have seen the difference that new stations can make. In 2023, a new station opened on the Borders railway at Reston, and there has been growth in that community before and since, with other services such as on-demand bus transport feeding into stations and their links. It is estimated that the economic benefit of that development for the local community will be well over £7 per every £1 spent.

We have seen that that is possible, and we want to bring the same success to the north-east, including to communities such as Cove and Newtonhill. Moving ahead with those projects would make a huge difference to people who live in and around those communities, and to the centre of Aberdeen, as Liam Kerr said. More people would have an easy option to come and enjoy what the city centre has to offer.

A survey was done in Cove, and the results were telling. Sixty-nine per cent of respondents said that there are journeys that they would like to make by rail but cannot due to the lack of a rail link. Businesses and individuals in those communities are overreliant on their cars.

If the Government is serious about reaching net zero and actually meeting some of its targets, investment is needed in such schemes, but why stop there? The Campaign for North East Rail has been calling for the east coast line to be extended up to Ellon, Peterhead and Fraserburgh. The campaigners have been doing an excellent job, and I hope that this devolved Government will give the project real consideration in the years ahead.

Màiri McAllan said only the other day that this devolved Government had missed most of its net zero targets. Here is the opportunity to demonstrate commitment to the north-east, commitment to net zero, commitment to multimodal transport systems and commitment to our railway network, which is in dire need of investment.

When it comes to investment in the rail network, we must not forget about the promise that the Government made back in 2016. That commitment was to spend £200 million to reduce rail journey times between Aberdeen and the central belt by 20 minutes by 2026. Eight years down the line, very little has been spent and no journey time improvements have been made. That, like other grand announcements that have been made by the SNP, seems like a lot of hot air, and everyone in the chamber knows that there is not a cat in hell’s chance of that commitment being delivered—another promise broken by the SNP.

If we can do it in the Borders, we can do it in the north-east. I am proud to support my colleague Liam Kerr in bringing forward this debate, because only the Scottish Conservatives are standing up for the north-east and talking about the issues that are at the heart of economic growth and securing jobs, stability and the future of our residents.

13:04  

I congratulate Liam Kerr on bringing this important issue to the chamber. I welcome the Nestrans report. The campaign for new stations in Newtonhill and Cove shows that people across Scotland are crying out for improved rail connections.

Rail can do so much for communities; it can provide a vital link for people who live in rural areas. The elderly and people who are not able to drive due to disability cannot rely on irregular and lengthy bus services. Tourists, who can bring so much money into communities outside the central belt, use trains to see our country, and the ability to travel by train easily will play a massive part in reducing car usage on our path to net zero.

Much of Scotland is poorly served by rail. The north-east, in particular, is underserved when compared with other regions, yet it has been so important to Scotland’s economy through agriculture, its natural resources and fishing, to name just a few. It is being neglected, yet the demand is there. More than 225,000 journeys were made in the first three years following a new station being opened in Kintore, in Aberdeenshire. Imagine what more investment could do.

I join members in thanking the Campaign for North East Rail for campaigning for greater rail connections in the north-east. Local community campaigns for new rail are important in bringing attention to underserved areas. For example, I recently joined residents of Winchburgh, a village in West Lothian, in delivering a petition to the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, Jim Fairlie, that calls on the Scottish Government to name a date for the opening of a train station there. Residents and developers were granted planning permission in principle for the station 12 years ago, but the fast-growing village is losing out.

The success of the campaign for stations in Cove and Newtonhill in gaining feasibility studies through Liam Kerr’s petition, which was signed by more than 1,500 people, gives me confidence that it is possible for progress to be made.

New rail stations prevent the isolation of people living in our rural communities and bring tourists to places that, previously, they would have ignored. Scotland has great potential for new railway stations all over the country, whether that be in Winchburgh, Fraserburgh or Cove. Rail travel is good for the environment, good for the economy and good for people. I welcome the motion and hope for a successful outcome from the studies.

13:07  

I apologise to members, because I might have to leave before the conclusion of the debate due to a previous commitment. I thank Liam Kerr for securing the debate. As north-east MSPs, we have a common interest in this issue.

The Nestrans announcement that new rail stations at Cove and Newtonhill are to be “examined in more detail” as part of the work to develop sustainable travel between Aberdeen and Laurencekirk is extremely welcome. As Liam Kerr has outlined, Cove is a residential area on the south side of Aberdeen, and Newtonhill is a commuter town that is a little further south. Both are in my constituency and, historically, both had train stops that served the local populations.

I have supported these improvements since I was a councillor for the Torry/Ferryhill ward of Aberdeen City Council. Indeed, I campaigned for the reinstatement of the train stops as part of my election campaign for the Scottish Parliament. I have since remained focused and active on the issue and, more recently, I wrote to the now cabinet secretary seeking her support on the matter. I know that Mr Kerr has been equally passionate and active on the issue.

The question to be asked and answered is why there is such consensus on the issue. The Parliament is, of course, aware of the critical role that the north-east plays in our national economy. A skilled workforce is spread across a number of communities that were once stand-alone small towns and villages and are now home to considerably bigger populations. Those communities continue to grow, with further development situated in or near them.

Regional transport links to the south of Aberdeen are primarily road based, with the exception of the rail links between Aberdeen and the central belt. As we continue to transition to a greener economy, people have become conscious of the need to consider alternative and more green travel options.

Local bus companies have delivered green transport options. Electric and hydrogen fleets, which have expanded rapidly in recent times, serve communities across the area.

The north-east communities at Newtonhill and Cove, as well as those that lie further north, along the Ellon to Peterhead corridor, are aware of the post-Beeching cuts that affected those communities. To one extent or another, the infrastructure that would make modern transport links viable again still exists.

Like other communities in the north-east, the communities of Cove and Newtonhill are seeking innovative connectivity with wider regional centres and beyond. The proposals for electrification and the reopening of rail links that were closed under Beeching offer the multimodal options that our communities are now seeking as a necessary part of 21st century living.

A previous Nestrans study on multimodal transport along the Aberdeen to Laurencekirk corridor indicated a clear willingness on the part of residents to support improvements to the rail network of the kind that, I believe, the opening of stations at Cove and Newtonhill would bring.

Where similar improvements have progressed, such as at Kintore, which other members have mentioned, it has quickly become clear that projects to deliver local transport infrastructure make a significant positive difference to local residents. I will put the Kintore improvements into focus: according to the most recent figures for journeys to and from Kintore station, about 85,000 passengers per annum use the station, and Kintore has a population that is half the size of the combined population of Newtonhill and Cove.

Kintore has shown us the way forward in providing travel options for our communities, and what has been done there can and should be replicated elsewhere. I hope that the Nestrans appraisal brings forward a positive case for stations at Cove and Newtonhill.

13:11  

I thank Liam Kerr for securing the debate and for making a very compelling case, as Audrey Nicoll has just done. I know Newtonhill and Cove very well. They are large and growing communities. They are also very mobile communities, and I think that there is a powerful case for allowing the trains that go through those communities to stop there. We are not talking about new railway lines; we are talking simply about allowing the trains to stop in those communities to let passengers on. Those are relatively low-cost options for quite a big impact.

The same goes for a station at Newburgh, in my constituency, which is not in what I would regard as the far north-east, although it is certainly north of the central belt—Fifers in the north-east of Fife do not regard themselves as central belters. I want to make the powerful case that I think has been developed by the Newburgh train station campaign. It has huge local support, as has the campaign for stations at Newtonhill and Cove. Members of the community are united: young and old are really motivated by the campaign, and it has gathered support from neighbouring communities such as Abernethy, which lies over into Perth and Kinross. It is clear that a station at Newburgh would be low cost and would have a high impact. It would mean a 12-minute journey to Ladybank or to Perth. The railway line runs right through the burgh. A modular station is proposed, which would be relatively low cost.

Newburgh is in a part of Fife that is quite cut off from other parts. For those who do not know it, I point out that it is right on the Tay estuary. A new station could give the area a big economic boost, because it is not the wealthiest part of my constituency. A big move is under way towards more estuary living, and a new station at Newburgh fits right into that potential. The economic boost that would be brought to that part of Fife is significant. One of the strong arguments of the Levenmouth campaign was the economic boost that the Levenmouth rail link would bring to that part of Fife, and I congratulate the Government on getting that scheme up and running. It will open within days. I think that the Levenmouth link will be great for the east of Fife, and part of the case for it was that it would bring significant economic developments.

However, we cannot rest on our laurels. There is a shortage of finance, as Kevin Stewart highlighted, so we need to identify schemes that are quite low cost but that will have a big impact. I think that the proposals for stations at Newtonhill and Cove, and at Newburgh in my constituency, meet those criteria.

The process—especially the low-cost process—is incredibly slow. The budget that the South East of Scotland Transport Partnership has set aside has already been blown apart because of the extra requirements placed on it by Transport Scotland. The Scottish transport appraisal guidance document was first submitted in June 2022, but it was six months before comments came back from the Government. SEStran resubmitted the proposal, but it took another six months for comments to come back, and we are going on and on.

I suspect that that process will carry on for a very long time, so I hope that the minister will reflect on the fact that there seems to be a disproportionate time and cost demand for schemes that are relatively low cost but that could have a big impact. I hope that we can adjust the process to ensure that schemes like the one for Newburgh have a chance to progress far more quickly. As I said, the Government has made good progress on the Levenmouth scheme and others, but there is a dearth of schemes coming through now. I hope the Government will see the need to adopt low-cost, high-impact schemes, and I urge the minister to reflect on the process, to look again at and advance the Newburgh project and to move it up the priority list, alongside Newtonhill and Cove.

13:15  

I thank Liam Kerr for bringing the debate to the chamber. I did not know that he is a train buff—we can talk about that later. He has secured an important debate about how the Government needs to be proactive in connecting communities across the whole of Scotland to the rail network as they expand and grow. The issue is particularly acute for me, as someone who lives in Moray. After this debate, I will run to Waverley station to get a train all the way back to Keith, in the very north.

As we approach May, with the sun rising and warmth in the air, I do not really want to talk about Christmas, but some of my constituents in Oban and in Argyll and Bute have contacted me about what they are now calling the “polar express” on the west Highland line, which is so cold in the mornings that they are wrapping themselves up in sleeping bags. Perhaps they should get sponsorship from ScotRail for a live-action remake of that film every day on the run-up to Christmas. They are raising an important point and not just because of health concerns about hypothermia on that line. We need modern infrastructure, not only for stations but for our rolling stock, and I hope that we will see the current situation remedied soon. The Oban Times recently reported that story, and I am glad that it did so, because it brings to light concerns not only in Oban but across the Highlands and Islands region, which I represent.

It is great to hear from Liam Kerr that the populations of Cove and Newtonhill have expanded considerably in recent years, meaning that they certainly warrant the new train stations he is asking for. Conversely, many communities across the Highlands and Islands are witnessing alarming rates of depopulation, partly because of a lack of investment in such infrastructure. Argyll and Bute is at particular risk, with a report published by the Scottish Parliament information centre in 2022 showing that Argyll’s islands have experienced the highest level of depopulation in Scotland in the past 20 years. The isle of Bute was worst hit and is, of course, heavily reliant on both a ferry service and rail infrastructure at Wemyss Bay.

The issue affects all parts of my region and more investment is needed, as was recognised during the initial options appraisal carried out as part of the second strategic transport projects review. That initial process was forward thinking, suggesting that there could be a new rail connection to and from Cowal to the west Highland line and also to Kintyre, through the use of fixed links. It suggested improving rail connectivity between Oban and London by the introduction of a sleeper service, which would have been very welcome and would have helped tourism. The review even suggested that the rail network could be extended to the islands via fixed links.

Disappointingly, none of those suggestions made it into the final report, which recommended no new stations or new lines. In the end, that report recommended only corridor enhancement to the Highland main line—basically passing places. That is all that it recommended, which is a massive missed opportunity for the Scottish Government.

However, all is not lost. The Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership has announced a consultation on its new draft regional transport strategy, setting out a 20-year vision for transport improvement across the Highlands and Islands. I particularly welcome its support for the planning and delivery of new railway stations. The devil will be in the detail, of course, but this is hopeful news for the Highlands and Islands.

The Highlands and Islands region needs more train stations, but it also needs wider investment in infrastructure across the board, especially if we are to tackle the real issues of rural depopulation. I would also love it if we could cure, once and for all, our polar express.

13:20  

I thank Liam Kerr for bringing the debate to the chamber. It is not too long since we walked the Buchan line together in the north-east sunshine—yes, it does exist—with the then Minister for Transport, Jenny Gilruth.

At the meeting that I and my team and the Campaign for North East Rail were at, we had discussions relating to the just transition fund, and a member of my team suggested that the campaign apply for that funding. I put it on the record that the Scottish Government has been a great supporter of the Campaign for North East Rail in every conversation that I have brought to it in that regard. In particular, it has awarded the campaign £250,000 from the just transition fund for a feasibility study to explore the possibility of passenger and freight services running north of Dyce and on to Peterhead and Fraserburgh. We expect the findings of that feasibility study very soon.

In a survey that I carried out recently that received more than 1,000 responses, two in five respondents said that they rely on bus services so that they can attend national health service appointments. We know that bus journeys to Aberdeen royal infirmary take two or three times as long as car journeys. Connecting our coast is about more than transport: it is necessary for the health, safety and wellbeing of my constituents.

From carbon capture projects to wind farms, our north-east corner is playing a vital role in delivering Scotland’s transition to net zero, but that means that heavy goods vehicle numbers on the roads remain consistently high every hour of every day of the working week. The key difference between the Campaign for North East Rail’s study and previous studies is the key focus on rail-freight opportunities in the area. Reconnecting Fraserburgh and Peterhead to the railway would allow many HGV movements to be transferred to the railway, which would result in cleaner air, fewer emissions, safer roads and more economic growth opportunities.

Peterhead and Fraserburgh have been identified as regeneration priority areas, and unemployment there is higher than the national average. We have a chance to replicate the success that we have seen in other schemes, such as the Borders railway, and to bring real regeneration to some of the most deprived areas in Aberdeenshire.

Peterhead south harbour, which is operated by ASCO, is the largest offshore-support facility in Europe. I am sure that the cabinet secretary will join me in celebrating this week’s fantastic news that the world’s biggest offshore floating wind farm is set to be built just off the coast of Peterhead. That project will bring billions to Scotland’s economy. The Blue Toon and the Broch, as they are affectionately known—Peterhead and Fraserburgh—will be vital to the site, and heavy equipment, parts and specialised workers are expected to come to the area once the wind farm is up and running.

The project is great news for Peterhead, but do such projects not make improvements in places such as Toll of Birness even more vital? The Government needs to get on with that work, because it is a real safety issue.

I support any calls for improvements to roads and infrastructure in the north-east. I will make a point on that later in my speech.

I whole-heartedly welcome the growth in my constituency, but we must recognise that the existing infrastructure is already congested with HGV, bus and car traffic. Introducing rail would go a long way towards providing much-needed and welcome relief.

I conclude by asking the Scottish Government whether it will continue to support the Campaign for North East Rail’s work by continuing to consider funding for the project, including for a detailed options appraisal when analysis of the latest study is complete. We are putting a lot of pressure on the Scottish Government to help and support the project. That is right, and it is our job as constituency MSPs to do that.

However, the UK Government has a part to play, as well. If a fraction of the money that has been spent on high-speed rail south of the border were to be spent in the north-east corner, we would not have rail just to Peterhead and Fraserburgh—it could go to Banff and Buckie and beyond. We have the potential to make a boom time for the north-east and beyond. I hope that we all recognise and will take full advantage of that.

Sue Webber is the final speaker in the open debate.

13:25  

I thank Liam Kerr for bringing the debate to the chamber. Improving rail connections in the north-east would be not just a regional benefit but a national benefit, and is a national priority. By enhancing the infrastructure in the north-east, we would not only foster local community cohesion but bolster the entire country’s transport network.

Members will be aware that there are other initiatives across the country, including the campaign to open a train station on the existing main line at Winchburgh, in West Lothian. That exemplifies strategic investments that can significantly contribute to broader economic and social development across Scotland. The same benefits have been clearly articulated by north-east members today—specifically, by Liam Kerr.

Winchburgh, which is a vibrant and growing community in West Lothian, currently finds itself isolated from the national rail network because the trains pass on by, and—as Willie Rennie mentioned in respect of other places—do not stop there. That lack of direct access severely restricts the ability of residents to reach essential medical services, pursue educational opportunities and connect with employment opportunities. The establishment of a new railway station would dramatically enhance connectivity, ease congestion in West Lothian and the west of Edinburgh, and support our ambitions to provide sustainable transport solutions.

I commend Winchburgh Developments Ltd for its commitment and substantial contributions to making that vision a reality. Its involvement is a testament to the power of community and corporate collaboration in driving forward public projects. Along with the community of Winchburgh, it presented a petition of more than 2,000 signatures to the Scottish Government. When it comes to community empowerment, that reflects the petition that was presented on Cove and Newtonhill, which had more than 1,500 signatures.

Winchburgh Developments Ltd is the principal landowner and has worked in partnership with Winchburgh community council and the Winchburgh Community Development Trust. The developer has already funded a new junction on the M9 to alleviate congestion and has shown considerable commitment to expanding the community. It is now time for the Scottish Government to match that.

As Cove and Newtonhill do, the region anticipates significant population growth. As a direct result of investment that is being leveraged from the Edinburgh and south-east Scotland city region deal, up to 4,000 new families will move there. Demand for more robust public transport options has never been more urgent, and the area will continue to grow.

A new station at Winchburgh is essential. Not only is it necessary for alleviating mounting congestion in our capital city, but it is a critical factor in meeting the Scottish Government’s failing net zero ambitions. The pace of progress has been staggeringly slow and bogged down in bureaucracy. Despite repeated promises to do so, Transport Scotland has still not shared Network Rail’s cost estimate or design estimate with the developer, which delays any realistic assessment that the developer can make about what its contribution can be, and simply adds to the transport woes of the West Lothian community, which is getting larger by the month.

However, there could be some good news. Winchburgh is a rare example of a station project that will not need to be wholly funded from the public purse because it will receive a generous contribution from the developer. Surely the Scottish Government should be pulling out all the stops to make that happen. That model could transform not only Winchburgh but so many of the badly needed infrastructure projects that we have heard about this afternoon.

I will be clear. The needs of the community are obvious. The benefits of the project can be seen from either end of the crowded M8, and they all require urgent action from the SNP Government to get something moving: no more meetings, no more talk about different types of meetings—just actual action.

I therefore call, yet again, on the Scottish ministers to do something—to re-establish the steering group to get the project moving and to commit to a timetable to deliver a station for the communities around Winchburgh, without any further obfuscation or delay.

13:29  

I thank Liam Kerr for raising the subject of new railway stations—in this case, at Cove and Newtonhill. I also thank Nestrans and its stakeholders for their efforts in progressing the work that has been undertaken to date on the transport appraisal, which is an issue that I will come back to.

Before I do so, I will offer my own reflections on the topic of the desire for a new railway station. I have received requests for new stations almost weekly since I took on the transport portfolio, and we have heard the same in all the contributions today. I understand the desire of the Newtonhill and Cove communities to see trains calling again at those stations after almost seven decades since their initial closure. Both communities and the Campaign for North East Railway have worked over the years to highlight the case for rail enhancements in the region, and I admire the ambition of any local rail campaign.

Indeed, as a constituency MSP, I know at first hand what a new rail station can do for an area, having campaigned successfully for new stations at Armadale and Blackridge as part of the Airdrie to Bathgate line. In my role as a constituency MSP, I am also a firm, long-standing and continuing supporter of the campaign for the Winchburgh railway station.

The potential value and opportunities that a railway station can bring to a community has been proven again and again by our investment in rail. I am therefore rightly proud of this Government’s record of opening new stations across Scotland, which stands at 18 to date, including two in the north-east at Laurencekirk, which opened in 2009, and Kintore, which, as we have heard, opened in 2020. That total is due to increase by a further two in the coming weeks, with the opening of the Levenmouth rail line and its new stations at Cameron Bridge and Leven. I have seen and heard what a new station means to a local community, having had the great pleasure of officially opening East Linton station back in December.

However, despite the numerous requests that I see for new stations and the evidence of the benefits that they might bring, I need to set the realities of the many other priorities for new rail investment against the unprecedented challenge that we face with regard to our capital position.

I turn to the work being led by Nestrans in its study of transport and travel between Laurencekirk and Aberdeen. I am aware that the Aberdeen to Laurencekirk multimodal study started life back in 2020, having been commissioned with funding from the Scottish Government’s local rail development fund. Following initial work, the study has evolved to incorporate and include the wider regional aspirations for an Aberdeen rapid transit project. It is the same corridor that was considered in the initial LRDF study, and it includes the A90 and A92 towards Aberdeen.

The previous work and the most recent options for Aberdeen rapid transit have taken the study to completion of the preliminary options appraisal report. The recommendations from that phase of work, which were approved by the Nestrans board in February, include options for strategic active travel interventions, implementation of a mobility hub facility to the south of Aberdeen, bus priority measures and new rail stations at Cove and Newtonhill. As all those options have scored sufficiently well against the study’s transport planning objectives and other appraisal criteria, they have met the necessary threshold to advance to the next stage, which is a detailed appraisal.

Moving forward, and in line with Scottish transport appraisal guidance, the next stage of the work will involve a detailed appraisal of the shortlisted packages. I therefore expect to see those options being developed further and their impact quantified as part of that assessment. That might include the packaging of options to identify the most effective solution for the corridor.

It is at that detailed appraisal stage that I would expect to see potential passenger demand forecasts for each option, together with the detailed cost estimates and the outcome of any public and stakeholder engagement. I understand from my officials that Nestrans is expecting to do that work this summer. All the evidence that has been gathered and consideration of the further risks will be required as part of that detailed assessment.

Let me be clear: even if the detailed appraisal concludes that one or both of the rail stations might have a strong case for moving forward, and even if my officials agree, a number of hurdles will still need to be cleared before it can progress. Top amongst those hurdles is affordability. As I have said on numerous occasions in the chamber recently, our ambitions to invest in Scotland’s infrastructure have been severely hampered by the UK Government’s failure to inflation proof its capital budget.

I have been listening carefully to the concerns being expressed about capital. Will the cabinet secretary explain what impact that will have on the £200 million investment that was meant to be made to reduce journey times by 20 minutes by 2026? Is that project not progressing now? It does not seem to have made much progress in the past eight years.

The member was at the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee when Màiri McAllan talked about our need to review timescales. Indeed, I think that he asked her about that very point.

We have commitments. The scope of the £200 million takes in a series of infrastructure upgrades, including signalling enhancement and station works at Aberdeen, Dundee, Montrose and Arbroath, and new freight loops that will specifically enable the operation of more and faster trains on the same route. Of course, Liam Kerr would want to use that funding for Cove and Newtonhill—I think that that was his suggestion.

Can I intervene on that point?

Yes—very briefly.

I am genuinely grateful. On the point about capital, once the line to Leven opens, which I think is on 2 June, only one new station has been committed to—Balgray, I think, which I believe is being funded through the Glasgow city region city deal. Is that level of funding being considered for Cove and Newtonhill?

Cabinet secretary, I can give you the time back for the intervention.

Thank you very much.

We have to be realistic. With the cumulative loss of more than £1.3 billion to our budget, we face challenges with completing existing commitments, and, obviously, we have additional commitments coming on top of that. That is why it is more important than ever to get strong business cases and detailed STAG appraisals.

For that reason, I must be assured of the robustness of the final recommendations in the Nestrans study, particularly given that the work is now being funded through the Aberdeen city region deal and that there might be calls for further Scottish Government investment to implement its recommendations. I reiterate that any changes to any city region deal have to be agreed by all the partners, as I think everybody has acknowledged.

In conclusion, the Government remains committed to investing in our railways, including in the opening of new stations, where there are strong business cases to do so. We are committed to the north-east, and indeed, we have demonstrated that commitment, not least through our contribution in respect of the rail line that Karen Adam is pursuing.

It is vital that, whichever option emerges from Nestrans’s detailed appraisal, it is backed by a strong evidence base that supports a business case for future investment. Without wishing to prejudice the outcome of the work, I say that that will be critical if the option requires Government support.

I look forward to the conclusion of the detailed appraisal phase and the outcome of the work, and I congratulate everybody involved in campaigning for Cove and Newtonhill, not least the communities involved. I know that they are passionate about securing those stations. Like me, Nestrans is focusing on making sure that the north-east can achieve the transport ambitions that it so rightly deserves. I hope, as I am sure that the campaigners do, that that work will come to a successful conclusion.

13:37 Meeting suspended.  

14:30 On resuming—