Transport Scotland aims to raise standards
OBJECTIVES for the development of rail services and infrastructure requirements for the five-year period between April 2024 and March 2029 have been set out by Transport Scotland on behalf of Scottish Ministers.
Network Rail continues to own the infrastructure, but is subject to a ringfenced budget in Scotland to operate, maintain and renew routes in line with principles set out in a High Level Output Statement (HLOS).
The budget is formally documented in the Statement of Funds Available (SoFA), amounting to £4.2 billion over the five-year period – although the figure is subject to final regulatory review, with concern that an increased number of extreme weather events may require additional funding.
The strategic priorities are that a safe, robust and reliable service will be delivered – both to retain existing passengers and freight, and to attract new custom from other transport modes by optimising the use of capacity. The management of costs must achieve value for money for the taxpayer, fare-payer and freight customer, who ultimately provide the income to fund railway operations.
Scotland’s National Transport Strategy promotes the use of sustainable rail services for more passengers and freight forwarders in response to climate change, with greater resilience and preparedness for severe weather events. Emphasis is also placed on maintaining connectivity with other modes, with timetables that provide reliable connections to meet passenger needs.
Clear priorities
To deliver these objectives, Network
Rail is required to have a clear understanding of the priorities of Scottish Ministers and provide a devolved train planning organisation that produces a timetable that reflects Scotland’s geography, economy and operating characteristics.
The condition of the network must allow train operators to achieve a Public Performance Measure of 92.5% for day-to-day operations, which includes enabling the Caledonian Sleeper services to meet their ‘right time’ target. Network capability should also reflect a need to ensure freight cancellations and lateness do not exceed 5.5%.
Freight operations in Scotland saved 58 million lorry miles in 2021/22, and modal shift from road haulage and the growth of rail freight is an essential part of targets for a reduction in transport emission of pollutants. An increase of 10% in rail-hauled net-tonne-kilometres is the ambition for the period.
The HLOS requires NR, in conjunction with passenger operators, to produce a strategy by the end of 2024 to promote and facilitate charter operations in Scotland and maintain structural clearance for vehicles used by heritage operators. This will remove the need for the time consuming annual reapplication to run vehicles over previously authorised routes.
Cross-border passenger and freight services are an important sustainable transport option compared to road and air, and Scottish ministers require NR to ensure that at least one such route is available at all times, with consultation taking place if this is not possible due to exceptional circumstances.
There must be support for the Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan in Scotland, which includes continued investment in electrification, with a need for NR to continue to develop an efficient technical specification for overhead line equipment that drives down the cost to allow a business case to be made for financially viable projects.