Rail campaigners still waiting for 15 years old SNP promises to be fulfilled

Rail campaigners are still waiting for promises made 15 years ago to cut the average train journey time between Inverness and Edinburgh.

Richard Ardern, a committee member of Friends of The Far North Line, heard Scotland’s then First Minister Alex Salmond, speak during a visit to Inverness about transport improvements.

Mr Ardern’s question to the three candidates in the SNP leadership battle would be: “Will you as future First Minister commit to honour the former First Minister’s August 2008 Inverness Town House promise to reduce the average rail journey time between Inverness and Edinburgh to three hours?”

Mr Ardern was among over 100 people at the Town House who heard Mr Salmond speak after a Scottish Government cabinet meeting.

“He promised this by 2012,” he said. “Instead, the average journey time has increased from three hours 25 minutes in 2008 to three hours 38 minutes in 2023. The extra Highland Main Line passing loops, so desperately needed, will also allow more freight trains to operate and thus improve safety by reducing the number of lorries on the A9.”

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