Haddington railway refused by Transport Scotland
23, 10 26 20:53
The Herald reported that, despite the findings of an assessment carried out under the STAG (Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance) protocol, Transport Scotland has refused to accept that a railway would be the best solution to transport problems in the East Lothian market town and capital, instead advising East Lothian Council, who commissioned the report, to look again at bus-based solutions.
The report, commissioned by East Lothian Council and funded by Transport Scotland's own Local Rail Development Fund which took six years of work, found that a new station on a branch line from the East Coast Main Line, with a half-hourly rail service from Edinburgh, would be the most effective way of tackling traffic pressures exacerbated by the area's growing population. Transport Scotland, however, thought otherwise and claimed there was 'no clear rationale' for the study having sifted out the likes of bus priority measures, enhanced bus services, Light Rapid Transit or better bus integration with services at East Linton or Longniddry, and insisted that these 'lower cost' options must be 'properly assessed'. None of the rail options, they said, represents 'value for money.'
What is of particular interest to StARLink is that these arguments bear a striking similarity to those used to dismiss the findings of our own STAG appraisal of the St Andrews case, and also claimed that 'better buses' were all St Andrews needed, despite previous experience suggesting that this was not so. Nothing more has been heard from Transport Scotland about these 'better buses' to St Andrews, and as far as Haddington is concerned, it has been claimed that the suggested buses to Longniddry and East Linton simply would not work.
Here is a link to The Herald article:
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=4676385146018890&set=g.12135242142
The report, commissioned by East Lothian Council and funded by Transport Scotland's own Local Rail Development Fund which took six years of work, found that a new station on a branch line from the East Coast Main Line, with a half-hourly rail service from Edinburgh, would be the most effective way of tackling traffic pressures exacerbated by the area's growing population. Transport Scotland, however, thought otherwise and claimed there was 'no clear rationale' for the study having sifted out the likes of bus priority measures, enhanced bus services, Light Rapid Transit or better bus integration with services at East Linton or Longniddry, and insisted that these 'lower cost' options must be 'properly assessed'. None of the rail options, they said, represents 'value for money.'
What is of particular interest to StARLink is that these arguments bear a striking similarity to those used to dismiss the findings of our own STAG appraisal of the St Andrews case, and also claimed that 'better buses' were all St Andrews needed, despite previous experience suggesting that this was not so. Nothing more has been heard from Transport Scotland about these 'better buses' to St Andrews, and as far as Haddington is concerned, it has been claimed that the suggested buses to Longniddry and East Linton simply would not work.
Here is a link to The Herald article:
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=4676385146018890&set=g.12135242142