Scottish rail policy appears to be in disarray after yesterdays events where the SNP government :
- Lost a vote to to scrap the Edinburgh trams scheme and the Edinburgh Airport rail link project.
- Effectively sunk the Borders rail - reopening plan by stating that "its planned opening in December 2011 is not achievable."
- Stated that the Glasgow Airport rail link will be delayed by about a year.
Transport Scotland will report to ministers on alternatives to Edinburgh trams and the airport link by the autumn.
See links below for more on this.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6246258.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6723791.stmThe SNP Government is set to ditch plans for a direct rail link to Edinburgh Airport and tell travellers to take the tram instead (link below.)
http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2007/09/ministers_set_to_abandon_650m.html#morePlans due to be unveiled later this week are expected to include a new station at Gogar , where passengers could switch from train to tram to get to the airport.
The ambitious £650m Edinburgh Airport Rail Link (EARL), which involved diverting both the Edinburgh-Glasgow and Edinburgh-Fife lines and building a tunnel under the runway , will be scrapped.
The SNP fought the Holyrood elections earlier this year on a pledge to ditch both EARL and the trams , but it said it did want an alternative way of providing a rail link to the airport.
The Government was forced to accept defeat on the trams and allow the project to proceed. But MSPs agreed the EARL scheme needed to be reviewed.
Also , the costs of major new rail projects across Scotland have spiralled by tens of millions of pounds , with some planned routes poised to become the most expensive , mile for mile , in the whole of Britain.
Three projects designed to improve the network are in danger of running up to £90 million over budget and could become the "rail equivalent of the Holyrood building project", sources have warned.
The price hikes are forecast for the opening of lines to Alloa , the Borders and Glasgow Airport.
It is understood poor management and lack of planning are responsible for the latest cost escalations. Some initiatives have suffered by being presided over by small local authorities , with a Scottish Government quango being forced to step into the fray.
Rail watchdogs have called on the government to establish a review of why the projects have run over budget and to act upon any recommendations to ensure sufficient safeguards are put in place.
Of the three initiatives , the one most at risk of incurring vastly increased costs is the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine line: it is likely to cost three times its original estimate and open nearly two and a half years late.
Its cost is believed to have risen to about £95 million - that is some £10 million more than in June and well above the figure of £65-70 million being quoted a year ago.
Sources have told The Scotsman it could now hit £100 million , making the 13-mile route one of Britain's most expensive , mile for mile.
Another claimed the original costs had been deliberately kept low to make the scheme appear more attractive.
The Waverley line between Edinburgh and Borders is also understood to have suffered significant cost increases , which could push the bill from the current £175.5 million to nearly £200 million.
Des McNulty , the shadow transport minister , told MSPs last week: "I have spoken at some length to people dealing with the Waverley railway project, who express severe doubts about whether the project can be delivered with the current funding package."
Stewart Stevenson , the transport minister , has already said there is a unspecified funding gap in the project and that the planned opening in five years time was unachievable.
Transport Scotland is taking over both the Alloa and Waverley line projects from the local authorities involved.
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at that quote , sorry.)
