McInnes petitions Government on Kintore station

5.00.00pm GMT Thu 20th Mar 2008

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for the North East Alison McInnes has handed over a petition signed by more than 1000 people calling for the building of a new railway station at Kintore.

A new station would allow the people of the fast-growing Aberdeenshire town the chance to use trains that currently pass through on the Inverness-Aberdeen line. It would play an important role in changing commuter patterns in the area, reducing congestion on the roads, and encouraging more sustainable travelling with reduced carbon dioxide emissions.

Proposals for station have been in development for some time, and were passed to Transport Scotland almost a year ago - yet there has been little, if any progress made with the plans. This is despite appraisals showing the strong business case for the new stop.

Handing the petition to the Transport Minister, Stewart Stevenson, Mrs McInnes has urged the Government to act now to move the project forward.

She said: "The business case and environmental benefits of building a new station at Kintore have already been clearly demonstrated, and now the people of Aberdeenshire have shown that there is a real demand as well.

"The progress on this proposal has been almost non-existent since the Government came to power last May, despite the clear benefits it would bring.

"We have already witnessed the timescale of the Aberdeen Crossrail project as a whole slip back, yet this is a component that can be moved forward now.

"I hope the Minister will listen to the voices of my constituents, and act now to ensure that a new station at Kintore becomes a reality without any further delays."