The A9 should have been made dual carriageway years ago, it is so unsafe, when you get stuck behind a slow moving truck, tempers flare and accidents happen.

In many ways the 'new' A9 is worse than the 'old' A9. At least with the latter it was clear that it was dangerous. The problem now is that the road is engineered for a median speed of 50 MPH (the mean limit being 60!) so the sight lines are often not capable of providing a sufficient view for safe overtaking. This is particularly the case in the Perthshire stretches but also applies further North.
The issue of transport links to the North is not just about roads, however, and I think that the Scottish Executive should look very hard at a comprehensive series of measures to encourage rational use of transport facilities. This means taking a long term strategic view of the railway system as well. The recent announcement of plans to restore some of the capacity to the railway between Perth and Inverness - restoration of double track and passing loops - for £55m. or so illustrates the point. How much per linear mile would it cost to double track the whole of the railway compared with putting in dual carriageway on the road and what are the relative cost benefits over the medium to long term. What about doible tacking and electrification of the railways? The strategy has to take into account policy for other trunk routes also notably the Glasgow to Inverness and Aberdeen to Inverness corridors. I'm not per se against dual carriageway to Inverness but it's not the whole story.

What mince. This is sharp-suited businessmen wanting to be able to drive faster and get to where they're going ten minutes earlier.

Peter - there are no 'plans' to increase capacity on the Inverness railway line - just a wish list. But investment in the railway route, and better trains running on it, would do far more to boost Inverness than making Inverness even more car-crazy than it is already.

How anyone can call the A9 a "bad road" is beyond me. Have they ever travelled up the A82 on Loch Lomond Side? There are plenty of other roads in Scotland that need the kind of investment being poured into the roads to Inverness ( which seems to be doing very well economically anyway). Traffic volumes don't begin to justify dualling and statistics show that it is not dangerous - the EuroRAP has it in its second safest category. The A82, in contrast, is in its most dangerous category.

Oh, and there are 6 cities in Scotland - funny how Stirling always gets forgotten about.