Axe hangs over North rail services again
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AS THE Caledonian Sleeper eases into Inverness railway station just after 8.30am, a steady stream of passengers disembark having made the overnight journey from London Euston.
They include a mix of business and leisure travellers who have opted to make the 11 hour journey by rail.
According to rail commentator Mark Smith of The Man In Seat Sixty One website, taking the Caledonian Sleeper train to Scotland is "the most civilised, romantic, time-effective and environmentally-friendly way from central London to the heart of Scotland".
Equally, for those travelling the other way, the Sleeper is the most practical and time saving solution for an early morning meeting or short break in London.
"A little piece of Scotland that takes you right down to the Big Smoke," he reflects.
So the suggestion in a Scottish government review that this direct rail link could be axed along with the daytime Highland Chieftain service between Inverness and London King Cross has been greeted with alarm by rail passengers, business and tourism leaders and politicians.
There is a particular sense of bewilderment regarding the threat to the Highland Chieftain which was saved exactly one year ago following a strong campaign led by The Inverness Courier.
Doubts over its future had emerged following a review of plans to replace some of the nation’s fleet of high-speed diesel trains with a bi-mode (diesel and electric) trains which are capable of running on non-electrified lines north of Edinburgh.
But after strong representations, the Westminster government pledged to retain the service, run by East Coast Trains, and to resume the plans for the new trains thereby securing the direct link.
So why the new threat this time from the Scottish government?
The suggestion has emerged in a consultation document, Rail 2014, published by the national transport agency, Transport Scotland, about the future of Scotland’s rail services.
In 2014, the contract for rail passenger services and the funding arrangements for Network Rail in Scotland are due to come to an end and new contracts have to be in place.
In the section about cross border services, one suggestion is that Edinburgh could become an interchange hub with onward connections provided by the Scottish franchisee — which would generate more revenue for Scottish-run services.
"Analysis of passenger numbers has shown that the service capacity beyond Glasgow and Edinburgh on these cross-border trains is frequently considerably underutilised," the report states.
"The provision of these services, while providing additional capacity, also takes potential passengers and revenue from ScotRail services and thereby affects the levels of subsidy required from the Scottish government."
It argues the benefits of the Edinburgh Hub would be:
? Finance — greater revenue return to the Scottish franchisee (increasing the attractiveness of subsequent franchises) and reducing subsidy from the taxpayer for services in Scotland.
? Resilience — all passenger franchised services within Scotland would be provided by one operator making it easier to provide services during bad weather.
? Control — there would not be reliance on Westminster’s department of transport franchised services for connectivity.
? Simplicity — one operator would remove any duplication and inefficiency and allow greater network/timetable freedoms for the Scottish operator.
It recognises, however, there would be possible drawbacks including the length of time it might take passengers to change at Edinburgh with the consequence they might choose other forms of transport.
Among those unconvinced by the arguments behind the Edinburgh hub scenario is the campaign group, the Scottish Association for Public Transport.
Its chairman John McCormick says the loss of direct trains north of Edinburgh would leave a gap.
"ScotRail would have to buy more trains to fill the gap effectively," he said. "It doesn’t make any sense financially. It is a bit of poor logic."
Mr McCormick says withdrawal of the Highland Chieftain would mean all through passengers changing at Edinburgh Waverley and having to carry luggage over the bridges.
"Having to change in Edinburgh would be unacceptable for business and leisure travellers," he stated.
Likewise, there are similar concerns about the suggestion in the consultation document that passengers on the Caledonian Sleeper could change at Edinburgh — certainly among those disembarking at Inverness.
Fisherman Gerald Stubbs moved from the Highlands to the South of France a few years ago but regularly returns to the area.
"I have come up from Toulouse as an alternative from taking the plane as I couldn’t get the right connections on the plane," explained Mr Stubbs as he embarked at Inverness.
"I left Toulouse yesterday morning and it has taken 24 hours to get here painlessly and I slept overnight. The other alternative would be to have driven which would have been very painful."
? Anyone who wants to respond to the consultation can do so via the Transport Scotland’s website www.transportscotland.gov.uk/rail2014.
