Transport in Scotland
“You shall spread abroad to the west, to the east, to the north and to the south.” Genesis 28:14
Our Transport Policy is based on economic, social and environmental principles. An integrated transport policy strikes a balance between economic demands, social inclusion, and the need to reduce congestion and limit environmental damage. We live and work in a changing environment, and as Christians we take seriously our God-given responsibility to be good stewards of world resources. However we oppose the exaggerated and semi-religious regard for ‘mother Earth’ promoted by some conservationists. God has given us the Earth to use and enjoy responsibly. We encourage greater transparency in taxation, and we support a fuel regulator as part of the solution to our escalating fuel costs. For this to work efficiently, we need to disentangle ourselves from European regulation which inhibits the flexibility required for fuel regulation.
1. Roads
We will support bringing the strategic roads in Scotland up to an appropriate standard to reduce journey times and to make travel times to the Highlands more predictable, for example, upgrading the A9 to a dual carriageway and improving the A82 and A96. We will initiate a consultation exercise regarding the feasibility of variable speed limits for trunk roads to reduce journey times and driver frustration, a common cause of accidents. We will link land use planning with transport planning to release appropriate land for strategic transport improvements, linking local, regional and national transport plans. We will seek to use transport channels for transmission of energy and telephone lines to reduce the impact on the rest of the countryside.
We will campaign to highlight road safety issues, such as numerous studies have shown that it is more dangerous to send text messages while driving than to drive while drunk.
In the cities we will seek to reduce congestion on the basis that the polluter pays through differential charging for parking and/or access e.g. big vehicles cost more. We will review the effectiveness of the outsourcing of trunk road maintenance well before contracts come up for renewal.
We favour prioritising the Inverness Trunk Link Road and a tunnel crossing of the River Ness and Caledonian Canal to open access to the north and west of the Highlands in preparation for the development of alternative energy from the western seaboard. This route will become increasingly important as Scotland becomes an exporter of energy and the technology-based industries associated with it.
There is also a strategic argument for this fixed link. The Kessock Bridge at Inverness spans a geological fault line and is a vital link to the northern Highlands. It is already carrying more traffic than was projected. A fixed link crossing to the west at Inverness will provide an alternative route round the Beauly Firth to the north in the event of closure of the Kessock Bridge for either planned maintenance works, upgrading, or damage in an emergency or environmental disaster.
This will develop the infrastructure of northern Scotland which must come sometime, and sooner is better than later.
The same attention to development needs to be implemented for other peripheral areas of Scotland such as the A75 from Stranraer to Carlisle and the roads to the north and west of Aberdeen.
2. Ferries and Shipping
Local communities are represented on the Shipping Services Advisory Committees, and these should be extended to include Orkney and Shetland.
We support the current pilot scheme for Road Equivalent Tariff (R.E.T.) and its extension to other routes. The pilot scheme in the Western isles has resulted in increased ferry traffic in both directions to the benefit of the local community by, for example, increased tourism.
We favour smaller faster boats where this is appropriate, but more use of larger night time boats for freight runs. The current two sailings from Shetland to Aberdeen are economically unsustainable to the tax-payer, and consideration should be given to more flexible use of Scrabster and Invergordon. This will encourage integrated planning to improve road access to Caithness, just as improvements to the north-west are necessary in preparation for the development of alternative energy from the western seaboard.
Scotland needs to improve its trading position in order to achieve economic growth. Shipping and seaports should be considered as strategically important to the nation and its commerce. While all of Scotland’s ports have a role to play in trade facilitation, Scotland needs to ensure it has a high quality strategic port on the Forth serving expanding European markets, and to help reverse the long-distance trucking of Scottish trade via ports in the south of England. Scotland also has an opportunity to create a new container transhipment hub for Europe at Scapa Flow in Orkney. Consideration should be given to strengthening the inland rail terminal at Coatbridge, with its connections to Grangemouth, Inverness, Aberdeen and markets throughout the rest of the UK, linking in with the development of Scapa Flow as an international container port for large vessels, with feeder vessels serving markets throughout northern Europe, the Baltic and Scandinavia. This will improve Scotland’s global connectivity as part of our long-term plan for developing the northern end of Scotland, and develop the north to south trade links which must come if the north of Scotland becomes the energy capital of western Europe. A floating terminal as envisaged at Scapa Flow will save on port capital and operating costs, reduce the time to completion, save CO2 emissions, as well as provide in-built flexibility, one of the Scottish Christian Party’s principles for future capital projects. To this end, we will promote the development of a Maritime Administration/Authority to take forward a number of strategic Scottish maritime initiatives as part of an Integrated Maritime Policy with the aim to expand trade in a sustainable manner and to generate economic growth.
We disapprove of the heavy-handed manner in which ferries on the Lord’s Day were imposed on island communities, contrary to the local council policy on six-day work. We will address this situation, otherwise it will have a domino effect upon the local economy and culture.
3. Rail
The Scottish Christian Party recognises the need for a High Speed Rail network from England to the Scottish central belt. A dedicated High Speed Rail network would free up existing capacity on the rail network, thereby enabling the transfer of freight from our roads and cutting the need for internal city to city flights. A debate is necessary on the integration of rail and air transport.
We recognise the success of the existing Scottish Rail Franchise. We will build on the success of ScotRail’s Glasgow and Edinburgh commuter services, the Beauly station refurbishment which is helping to keep commuter traffic out of Inverness, and further developments such as the re-opening of the Conon Bridge station. We congratulate ScotRail on the recent opening of the new line from Glasgow to Edinburgh via Airdrie and Bathgate.
We will look for sustainable ways of linking rail freight traffic to our shipping network to take juggernauts off the routes from Southampton and Tilbury to Mossend and Coatbridge. The new Stena terminal, about to open some miles from the current railhead at Stranraer, favours car, coach and haulage transport and excludes rail passengers. We advocate a new rail spur connection.
4. Aviation
We agree with the scope of the Kyoto environmental and climate targets.
This will involve focusing energy on key business routes and peripheral areas as well as co-operating with research into alternative aviation propulsion. We support the retention of the air discount scheme for the Highlands and Islands and the general principles of a Public Service Obligation framework.
5. Buses
We welcome the extension of concessionary travel since 2003 and the investment in community transport initiatives that have improved the quality of life for many in Scotland. This is suffering under current cut-backs, just when it requires further integration with public transport in order to provide the necessary connection for longer journeys.
In the cities we will learn from the best practice in Europe to expand park and ride. We will encourage public transport, cyclists and walkers, and promote research into more environmentally safe means of propelling buses.
6. Cycling and walking
Each city and town should have a blue print for how cyclists and walkers move between schools, shops and housing. This will improve health and road safety. We will continue the partnership with Sustrans and Hitrans to develop the national cycle network.
7. Space Tourism and NASA
Space tourism is an interesting development for the north of Scotland which is ideally placed for the technical requirements for space launches.
The decision to disband the Tornado 14 Squadron at RAF Lossiemouth has left uncertainty over the base’s future. However Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is considering Lossiemouth as its preferred location for Europe’s first space port, for the launch of its SpaceShipTwo.
NASA has also shown an interest in the region, suggesting that the next Shuttle missions may consider launching from the same area.
This will be a unique opportunity to attract worldwide scientific interest and tourism, with profound opportunities for the local economy which has suffered from RAF cut-backs in the recent Strategic Defence Spending Review.
The RAF Kinloss airfield will cease to operate after 31 July and Kinloss may become little more than a debriefing point for troops from Germany.
Ex-military personnel are being usefully employed in bringing discipline into schools in England, and the Scottish Christian Party suggests that their skills and these decommissioned facilities could be used as part of a diversified policy towards offenders and prisoners.
This shows that there is scope for re-development of decommissioned airfields and former military personnel in the region.
By God’s grace, the future is bright for Scotland.“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”Joshua 24:15.Christian Party Members of Parliament will:
“You shall spread abroad to the west, to the east, to the north and to the south.” Genesis 28:14
Our Transport Policy is based on economic, social and environmental principles. An integrated transport policy strikes a balance between economic demands, social inclusion, and the need to reduce congestion and limit environmental damage. We live and work in a changing environment, and as Christians we take seriously our God-given responsibility to be good stewards of world resources. However we oppose the exaggerated and semi-religious regard for ‘mother Earth’ promoted by some conservationists. God has given us the Earth to use and enjoy responsibly. We encourage greater transparency in taxation, and we support a fuel regulator as part of the solution to our escalating fuel costs. For this to work efficiently, we need to disentangle ourselves from European regulation which inhibits the flexibility required for fuel regulation.
1. Roads
We will support bringing the strategic roads in Scotland up to an appropriate standard to reduce journey times and to make travel times to the Highlands more predictable, for example, upgrading the A9 to a dual carriageway and improving the A82 and A96. We will initiate a consultation exercise regarding the feasibility of variable speed limits for trunk roads to reduce journey times and driver frustration, a common cause of accidents. We will link land use planning with transport planning to release appropriate land for strategic transport improvements, linking local, regional and national transport plans. We will seek to use transport channels for transmission of energy and telephone lines to reduce the impact on the rest of the countryside.
We will campaign to highlight road safety issues, such as numerous studies have shown that it is more dangerous to send text messages while driving than to drive while drunk.
In the cities we will seek to reduce congestion on the basis that the polluter pays through differential charging for parking and/or access e.g. big vehicles cost more. We will review the effectiveness of the outsourcing of trunk road maintenance well before contracts come up for renewal.
We favour prioritising the Inverness Trunk Link Road and a tunnel crossing of the River Ness and Caledonian Canal to open access to the north and west of the Highlands in preparation for the development of alternative energy from the western seaboard. This route will become increasingly important as Scotland becomes an exporter of energy and the technology-based industries associated with it.
There is also a strategic argument for this fixed link. The Kessock Bridge at Inverness spans a geological fault line and is a vital link to the northern Highlands. It is already carrying more traffic than was projected. A fixed link crossing to the west at Inverness will provide an alternative route round the Beauly Firth to the north in the event of closure of the Kessock Bridge for either planned maintenance works, upgrading, or damage in an emergency or environmental disaster.
This will develop the infrastructure of northern Scotland which must come sometime, and sooner is better than later.
The same attention to development needs to be implemented for other peripheral areas of Scotland such as the A75 from Stranraer to Carlisle and the roads to the north and west of Aberdeen.
2. Ferries and Shipping
Local communities are represented on the Shipping Services Advisory Committees, and these should be extended to include Orkney and Shetland.
We support the current pilot scheme for Road Equivalent Tariff (R.E.T.) and its extension to other routes. The pilot scheme in the Western isles has resulted in increased ferry traffic in both directions to the benefit of the local community by, for example, increased tourism.
We favour smaller faster boats where this is appropriate, but more use of larger night time boats for freight runs. The current two sailings from Shetland to Aberdeen are economically unsustainable to the tax-payer, and consideration should be given to more flexible use of Scrabster and Invergordon. This will encourage integrated planning to improve road access to Caithness, just as improvements to the north-west are necessary in preparation for the development of alternative energy from the western seaboard.
Scotland needs to improve its trading position in order to achieve economic growth. Shipping and seaports should be considered as strategically important to the nation and its commerce. While all of Scotland’s ports have a role to play in trade facilitation, Scotland needs to ensure it has a high quality strategic port on the Forth serving expanding European markets, and to help reverse the long-distance trucking of Scottish trade via ports in the south of England. Scotland also has an opportunity to create a new container transhipment hub for Europe at Scapa Flow in Orkney. Consideration should be given to strengthening the inland rail terminal at Coatbridge, with its connections to Grangemouth, Inverness, Aberdeen and markets throughout the rest of the UK, linking in with the development of Scapa Flow as an international container port for large vessels, with feeder vessels serving markets throughout northern Europe, the Baltic and Scandinavia. This will improve Scotland’s global connectivity as part of our long-term plan for developing the northern end of Scotland, and develop the north to south trade links which must come if the north of Scotland becomes the energy capital of western Europe. A floating terminal as envisaged at Scapa Flow will save on port capital and operating costs, reduce the time to completion, save CO2 emissions, as well as provide in-built flexibility, one of the Scottish Christian Party’s principles for future capital projects. To this end, we will promote the development of a Maritime Administration/Authority to take forward a number of strategic Scottish maritime initiatives as part of an Integrated Maritime Policy with the aim to expand trade in a sustainable manner and to generate economic growth.
We disapprove of the heavy-handed manner in which ferries on the Lord’s Day were imposed on island communities, contrary to the local council policy on six-day work. We will address this situation, otherwise it will have a domino effect upon the local economy and culture.
3. Rail
The Scottish Christian Party recognises the need for a High Speed Rail network from England to the Scottish central belt. A dedicated High Speed Rail network would free up existing capacity on the rail network, thereby enabling the transfer of freight from our roads and cutting the need for internal city to city flights. A debate is necessary on the integration of rail and air transport.
We recognise the success of the existing Scottish Rail Franchise. We will build on the success of ScotRail’s Glasgow and Edinburgh commuter services, the Beauly station refurbishment which is helping to keep commuter traffic out of Inverness, and further developments such as the re-opening of the Conon Bridge station. We congratulate ScotRail on the recent opening of the new line from Glasgow to Edinburgh via Airdrie and Bathgate.
We will look for sustainable ways of linking rail freight traffic to our shipping network to take juggernauts off the routes from Southampton and Tilbury to Mossend and Coatbridge. The new Stena terminal, about to open some miles from the current railhead at Stranraer, favours car, coach and haulage transport and excludes rail passengers. We advocate a new rail spur connection.
4. Aviation
We agree with the scope of the Kyoto environmental and climate targets.
This will involve focusing energy on key business routes and peripheral areas as well as co-operating with research into alternative aviation propulsion. We support the retention of the air discount scheme for the Highlands and Islands and the general principles of a Public Service Obligation framework.
5. Buses
We welcome the extension of concessionary travel since 2003 and the investment in community transport initiatives that have improved the quality of life for many in Scotland. This is suffering under current cut-backs, just when it requires further integration with public transport in order to provide the necessary connection for longer journeys.
In the cities we will learn from the best practice in Europe to expand park and ride. We will encourage public transport, cyclists and walkers, and promote research into more environmentally safe means of propelling buses.
6. Cycling and walking
Each city and town should have a blue print for how cyclists and walkers move between schools, shops and housing. This will improve health and road safety. We will continue the partnership with Sustrans and Hitrans to develop the national cycle network.
7. Space Tourism and NASA
Space tourism is an interesting development for the north of Scotland which is ideally placed for the technical requirements for space launches.
The decision to disband the Tornado 14 Squadron at RAF Lossiemouth has left uncertainty over the base’s future. However Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is considering Lossiemouth as its preferred location for Europe’s first space port, for the launch of its SpaceShipTwo.
NASA has also shown an interest in the region, suggesting that the next Shuttle missions may consider launching from the same area.
This will be a unique opportunity to attract worldwide scientific interest and tourism, with profound opportunities for the local economy which has suffered from RAF cut-backs in the recent Strategic Defence Spending Review.
The RAF Kinloss airfield will cease to operate after 31 July and Kinloss may become little more than a debriefing point for troops from Germany.
Ex-military personnel are being usefully employed in bringing discipline into schools in England, and the Scottish Christian Party suggests that their skills and these decommissioned facilities could be used as part of a diversified policy towards offenders and prisoners.
This shows that there is scope for re-development of decommissioned airfields and former military personnel in the region.
By God’s grace, the future is bright for Scotland.“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”Joshua 24:15.Christian Party Members of Parliament will:
- prioritise the Inverness Trunk Link Road and a tunnel crossing of the River Ness and Caledonian Canal to open access to the north and west of the Highlands in preparation for the development of alternative energy from the western seaboard
- encourage a new container transhipment hub for Europe at Scapa Flow in Orkney
- improve Scotland’s global connectivity as part of our long term plan for developing the northern end of Scotland, and develop the north to south trade links
- re-development of decommissioned airfields and former military personnel
