North East MSP Condemns Rail Study as Flawed

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 29th Aug 2007

Scottish Liberal Democrat Transport spokesperson and North East MSP Alison McInnes has criticised the latest Aberdeen Crossrail study, which concludes that the project is not good value for money.

Commenting, Alison McInnes said:

"It has always been the case that the Crossrail project would piggyback on the upgrade to the main Aberdeen/Inverness line. Combining local improvements with that upgrade would result in a proper commuter train service between Inverurie and Stonehaven, via new stations at Kintore and in the city.

"The Scottish Executive is now including the costs of the major infrastructure improvements to the Aberdeen/Inverness line in the cost benefit analysis of the Crossrail project. This is fundamentally unfair, and it is no wonder that it doesn't appear to stack up financially.

"Including the major infrastructure costs in the study has put the Crossrail project in jeopardy, and the cost benefit analysis must be re-calculated.

"Elements of the Crossrail project package can be progressed incrementally - particularly a new station at Kintore and improvements to the number of trains running between Inverurie and Aberdeen - and these must be put in progress without any further delay.

"If the Executive meant business it would bring forward the improvements to the Aberdeen/Inverness line which they have pencilled in for 2014, and we would see a decent alternative to road travel being developed on the only rail corridor north of Aberdeen."