December 3.
Benedict Brogan's report relating to ScotRail's bid to electrify the
main route between Glasgow and Edinburgh and to increase the frequency
of the services makes interesting reading to many in the North (November
29).
No doubt the worthy citizens of Edinburgh and Glasgow will appreciate
Mr Bleasdale's intention of reducing the journey time from 50 to 44
minutes. The fact that it will cost upwards of #75m seems to be a mere
detail.
Electrification will cost #25m and new rolling stock #50m. For an
outlay in the region of #20m Mr Bleasdale could construct 12 miles of
new track and a bridge over the Dornoch Firth and reduce rail travelling
time for people in Thurso and Wick travelling to Inverness from the
present three hours 44 minutes to approximately two hours 50 minutes.
A new track would also reduce maintenance costs substantially. Mr
Bleasdale's enthusiasm for central belt improvement is in stark contrast
to his reluctance even to consider such an improvement to the North
line.
Mr Bleasdale has consistently argued that bridging the Dornoch Firth
would be too expensive, but EU Objective One grants would probably cover
75% of the cost and we believe these funds could be better spent on a
major project that would benefit the North of Scotland for generations
to come rather than on a multitude of smaller projects which would only
provide a short-term benefit.
Hugh Manson,
Secretary,
Thurso Community Council,
Alistair Roy,
Secretary, Royal Burgh of Wick
Community Council.
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