Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20136 on 26 March 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20136 on 26 March 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20136 on 26 March 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

We recognise that there have been decades of underinvestment in Scotland’s transport infrastructure, as was recently confirmed by the UK Secretary of State for Transport. This Scottish Government has invested over £9.5 billion in transport since 2007, and is committed to a further £5 billion investment programme in rail infrastructure and services between 2014 and 2019. This includes an estimated £200 million rolling programme of investment in network electrification beyond that committed as part of Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme.

This Government recognises the economic and environmental benefits of electrifying our rail network. We are working with the rail industry to develop a strategy and identify our priorities for future phases of electrification beyond the current committed schemes identified in Control Period 5 (2014-19).

All non-electrified routes will be considered as part of the strategy to determine the optimal way forward for electrifying the rest of the network.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20136 on 26 March 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20136 on 26 March 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The David MacBrayne Ltd (DML) Group is undertaking a commercial technology transformation programme focussed on network connectivity, digital customer services and data management. This will improve DML’s customer experience, make it easier for customers to engage with DML, and improve ways of working within the business by enabling better internal communications. The programme is fully aligned to Scotland's national digital strategy as well as enabling community sustainability. The programme is also aligned to Transport Scotland's smart and integrated ticketing strategy.

Procurement is being undertaken in line with procurement best practice governance and in the accordance with the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2012. The tendering is being led by the DML’s internal procurement team.

The technology transformation programme covers a number of dependent projects which will deliver through 2014 and 2015. Where appropriate, and in line with best practice, DML will bring in short-term external contractor resource to supply specialist skills. The level of this resource will vary throughout the contract life cycles. All projects are sponsored by a member of the David MacBrayne Ltd Group's management team and include appropriate subject matter experts from the business.

When DML started their procurement in January 2013, the Scottish Wide Area Network (SWAN), led by the Scottish Government contract had not been awarded due to a delay caused by a legal challenge by BT. The court case was resolved to a point where the contract was awarded in February 2014. The expectations of the SWAN team were that only the lead partners would be able to contract before 2015. However, due to the nature of DML’s requirements and geographical spread, SWAN would need to make use of the Next Generation Broadband project infrastructure which is due to be completed at the end of 2016 in the Highlands and Island and 2017 for the rest of Scotland. Therefore the earliest opportunity for DML to roll out a SWAN service would be likely to be 2017, so the SWAN roll-out plans do not fit with DML’s timetable. However, DML’s network will be standards based which allow them to interface with SWAN in the future and the DML supplier contract will allow for this.

As DML are currently engaged in the procurement phase of the main projects it would not be appropriate to comment on potential suppliers or technologies. The anticipated level of investment is currently commercially confidential.

The A9 dualling budget for 2014-15 is £7.2 million and for 2015-16 is £17.8 million. The budget for 2016-17 and beyond will be subject to spending review. It is planned to complete the dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness by 2025.

Variable message signs are used by the Scottish Government to manage the trunk road network by providing advanced warning to drivers of emergencies and incidents. That is their primary use. Only when there are no emergencies or incidents to report, the signs are used to warn drivers of events that may cause delays in the future (e.g. road works or major events), provide reliable journey time information and to also promote background messages that support road safety, network operation and other related campaigns.

The background messages have been developed in consultation with a number of key stakeholders and we try to apply them with a degree of intelligence. For example, if a route has a high motorcycle accident rate during the summer, we will display relevant road safety messages on that route during that period. If traffic queues on a route every morning, we will display car sharing or public transport messages on that route during the morning peak.

We believe our network of 205 variable message signs is an important asset, which should be fully utilised to influence driver behaviour and promote a safer and more efficient transport network. We constantly look for opportunities to improve the effectiveness of our background messages and will look to introduce a message to stress the importance of regular eye tests.

In 2012 there were 12 cases where it was considered that drivers with uncorrected defective eyesight had contributed to injury road accidents. Information on contributory factors is collected by the police as part of the GB wide ‘STATS 19’ accident data collection. It should be noted that they reflect the reporting officer’s opinion at the time of reporting the accident and are based on the information which was available at that time, and have not been revised in the light of any subsequent extensive investigation.