Question marks over transport plans

EXPERTS have questioned how a stretched budget is going to pay for a high speed rail link between Edinburgh and Glasgow as part of Scotland's most ambitious transport overhaul in a century.

The Executive has already committed to transport plans totalling £3.5 billion, including building a rail link to both Edinburgh and Glasgow airports and a Borders railway. A new crossing may also have to be built across the Forth.

Tomorrow, ministers will publish a transport strategy detailing billions of pounds worth of plans for high speed rail links between major cities, as well as plans to introduce road tolls.

But former government adviser David Begg, the publisher of Transport Times, questioned how the Executive could afford such a huge range of projects.

Ministers are expected to neutralise the cost of road tolls by cutting fuel tax, so no additional resources will be made for public transport projects.

"What we are funding is potentially the biggest transport investment programme since the Victorian era and it is going to need funding," Mr Begg said.

The National Transport Strategy to be published tomorrow will map the direction of Scotland's transport system for the next 20 years.

The strategy will not detail specific projects, as these will be decided in the strategic transport review. However, it will set out the transport priorities to keep Scotland's economy going while cutting carbon emissions. Judging from the political manifestos of all the major parties likely projects include a high speed rail link between Edinburgh and Glasgow to cut journey times from an hour to 30 minutes.

Despite warnings against "mega projects" by the government-commissioned Eddington report on transport last week, politicians are also keen on a high speed link with London modelled on hi-tech railways in France or the Far East.

Road tolls are certain to be brought in, although ministers will try to soften the blow by promising a cut in fuel duty.

Mr Begg pointed out that the strategy, that has been published six months before an election, details ambitious plans without any costings.

"There is always a danger when a major strategy is published in the run up to the election that all the pleasant things are in it and not the difficult things," he said.

Already the Executive is committed to building a Borders rail link at a cost of £130 million, the Glasgow airport rail link at a cost of £160 million, an Edinburgh rail link at £500 million and the Edinburgh tramlink at a cost of £714 million.

Overshadowing all this is the now compelling case for new Forth crossing at a cost of more than £670 million.

A bullet train between Glasgow and Edinburgh will cost at least £1.5 billion and the north-south link is likely to cost £30 billion.

Mr Begg questioned how the Executive could pay for the projects without making money from road pricing. "It is a bit like having your cake and eating it. Already transport is taking up a big slice of the Executive's budget and I do not think it can take any more, which means if they have ambitious plans they have to say how they are going to fund it," he said.

Colin Howden, the director of TRANSform Scotland, was also sceptical about the Executive completing their ambitious plans. He questioned whether there should be a high speed rail link between Edinburgh and Glasgow, rather than upgrading the current line and improving other links. And he called for a firm commitment on road charging which has been promised by politicians for more than a decade.

AMBITIOUS STRATEGY

THE National Transport Strategy will set out the future of Scotland's road and rail network for the next 20 years.

• Road tolls are to be brought in UK-wide, perhaps first in Scotland, where they have the backing of the Executive.

• A bullet train between Glasgow and Edinburgh will cut journey times from one hour to 30 minutes at a cost of at least £1.5 billion.

• A high-speed rail link from Scotland to London could cut journey times to just two and a half hours. Models under consideration include the French TGV, or the magnetic trains which are used in China. However the link, which is likely to cost £30 billion, will need the co-operation of the English.

• The Executive is not due to make a decision on a new Forth Road crossing until next year. However, the case for a new crossing at a cost of more than £670 million is gaining momentum.

• Trams are likely to make a comeback as a low-carbon answer to public transport. A network is already planned for Edinburgh at a cost of £714 million.

• Rail links will need improving across the country. Already the Executive has committed to a Borders rail link at a cost of £130 million, the Airdrie-Bathgate rail link at a cost of £300 million, the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine £67 million link and the Waverley station upgrade at a cost of £150 million.

• Short-haul air travel should be cut by rail links to London. However, travel links to airports will still be improved.