Question reference: S5W-30187
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 23 June 2020
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Current status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 July 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Transport Scotland Reference Group regarding the £200 million of funding for north east rail improvements between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, and whether it will provide an update on (a) any works identified by the group and (b) the status of track dualling at Usan Junction.
Answer
The Aberdeen to Central Belt Reference Group met six times between May 2017 and September 2019, with representatives from Transport Scotland, Network Rail, ScotRail, Nestrans, Aberdeen City Region Deal and Tactran. A Key Stakeholder Group, involving these organisations, now meets quarterly to review project progress.
The Reference Group had commissioned a study exploring the possibility of doubling the line between Montrose and Usan Junction. However, this concluded it would be prohibitively expensive and have a major environmental impact on the Montrose Basin and its wildlife, while only delivering negligible journey time improvements. The Reference Group concluded that the investment would be better focussed on signalling enhancements between Aberdeen and Dundee.