A recent Government report has shown that the Scottish Government’s multi-billion pound spending on new road projects will damage rail services in Scotland.

The report, released by Transport Scotland, showed that the Government’s £3 billion spending on dualling the A9 road is likely to reduce the viability of rail freight services to and from the north of Scotland.

Whilst the main road between Perth and Inverness is dualled – despite the business case not being clear for this project – the Highland Main Line rail network to Inverness remains largely single track and, in many places, is still dependent on Victorian-era infrastructure.

Commenting on the news, Paul Tetlaw, Head of the Policy Forum at Transform Scotland, said:

“It is deeply disappointing to read that yet more rail freight is likely to transfer to the roads as a result of the Scottish Government’s focus on spending the vast bulk of the transport capital budget on road building. The Government’s own report makes this abundantly clear.