The Centre for Scottish Public Policy (CSPP) held a fringe event at the SNP Autumn 2009 Conference in Inverness on the future prospects for the country’s transportation. Entitled ‘Transport Solutions for Scotland: Getting Scotland to Work’.
The event took the form of the popular television series, Dragons Den, in which five key stakeholders in Scottish transportation presented their proposals to the Dragons.
Chaired by Ross Martin, Policy Director for CSPP, the event displayed the diversity of transport initiatives open to Scotland. Presentations included telecommuting solutions, high speed rail, an automated transport system for Glasgow, modernisation of Glasgow’s subway system and developing and promoting cycling solutions in Scotland.
High Speed Rail Line
Putting forward his proposal for high speed rail, Graham Bell of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce said that the time had come to turn the ‘aspiration’ of high speed rail into ‘inspiration’. Focusing on commuting patterns between central Scotland and central London, Bell highlighted that today up to 1 million people commute by either rail or road, while a further 6 million people commute by air.
Not only would high speed rail take 3.5 million people out of airports and save up to £1 billion in time, it would also dramatically reduce carbon emissions. With the costs of building a high speed rail line in Britain expected to be up to £30 billion, Bell suggested that the cost of incorporating Scotland into the wider UK proposal could realistically see costs rise by a further £8 billion over 20 years.
He believed that the onus is on Scotland to ensure that it is included in the construction and development of a high speed rail. Bell also advocated the proposal that the line would split at the border ensuring that that both Edinburgh and Glasgow would be similarly served.
The Dragons were equally enthusiastic, but with some caveats. Minister Stevenson though persuaded was particularly concerned about the costs involved. Scott McIntosh, on the other hand highlighted the fact that a number of studies had been done on the issue of high speed rail in the UK and the question now needed to be asked as to how this would be delivered. High speed rail for McIntosh had to be part of an integrated transport system and while it has the support of both the public and the private sectors he argued that without the involvement of the private sector such a project could not be delivered.
New HSR report from Greengauge 21 Report highlights high speed rail benefits A high-speed rail (HSR) network would boost UK annual economic output by between £17bn and £29bn by 2040, according to a lobby group.
The study, High-Speed Rail in Britain: Consequences for Employment and Economic Growth undertaken by management consultancy KPMG on behalf of Greengauge 21, estimates that a national HSR network could contribute between 25,000 and 42,000 additional jobs in Britain.
It says HSR could help to spread prosperity outside the most productive areas of the South East and London and could contribute to closing the north-south divide.
Greengauge 21 partner, Lewis Atter, said: “Evidence on the importance of rail to the economy and thus exchequer revenues is scarce. Our work for Greengauge is an attempt to put that right.
“Using evidence on how rail connectivity and economic performance are linked today, we have asked what high-speed rail (HSR) could do in the future.
“This is a new way of thinking about the economic returns to transport investment, focused on its impact on the supply side of the economy. The questions it poses about the long term returns to different kinds of investment will become increasingly important as the country faces up to the decisions necessary to reduce the deficit whilst also promoting longer term growth.”
Hear this interview with Graham Bell and John McCormick, Chair of the Scottish Association for Public Transport:
“Discussing the proposed plans for Highspeed rail to Scotland“.
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In this interview Grahm Bell and John McCormick discuss the benefits of Highspeed rail in light of recent reports that the line is to only be planned as far north as Leeds.
Established in January 2009, High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd is the company set up by the Government to consider the case for new high speed rail services between London and Scotland.
Should Ministers decide to proceed with a high speed line, HS2 would be a high capacity railway, designed to standard European high speed specifications, and make use of technology successfully developed in countries like France and Germany.
The specifications for high speed rail systems are different to those of conventional UK rail. In order to ensure that new systems built in Europe were compatible with each other and use common standards, the European Union set out guidance and specifications that all countries must adhere to when building new rail lines ….more
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