Current status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 5 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to re-opening the passenger railway link to Grangemouth.
The re-introduction of passenger services onto the existing freight only rail line to Grangemouth was considered as part of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2). The option was taken forward to the Preliminary Options Appraisal stage but was not selected as an STPR2 Recommendation on the basis of its performance against the appraisal criteria and the fact that it would have adverse impacts on the freight capacity and the Glasgow – Edinburgh mainline. It was also deemed unlikely to generate sufficient passenger demand.
Instead, recommendations set out in STPR2 for rail focus on the decarbonisation of the remainder of the network; measures to increase the amount of freight travelling by rail and on improving connectivity between our major cities.
However, there remains a path for regional or local rail projects to come forward, and Transport Scotland will consider these subject to a strong business case being developed in accordance with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) and suitable funding being available.