Scotland's slow trains hold our economy back but offer an opportunity for dramatic improvements – Scotsman comment

Improving the rail network could help Scotland achieve net zero, reduce depopulation and grow the economy

Travelling by train between Inverness and Edinburgh takes almost as long as the journey from Edinburgh to London, despite being less than half the distance (Picture: Rail Photo/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images)

In a new report, the Reform Scotland think tank points out an interesting fact about Scotland’s rail links. While a train takes about 4 hours 20 minutes to get from Edinburgh to London, 395 miles away, the 156-mile journey to Inverness lasts for more than 3 hours 30 minutes. And, like some other routes within Scotland, it is actually quicker to travel by car.

This simple fact shows how poorly some parts of Scotland are served by our railways, but also the potential to make dramatic improvements. If Edinburgh-Inverness trains travelled as fast as the London service, the journey would take about half the time.

The economic effects of faster trains are clear. The greater the ease with which people can travel between Scotland’s cities, the more business and social links will be formed, with new markets opening up that enable local economies to prosper. However, as the UK Government’s decision to cancel the HS2 extension from Birmingham to Manchester highlighted, dramatic improvements in train journey times can be expensive and there are always competing priorities.

Reform Scotland’s report gives credit to the Scottish Government for investing in our railways – more than £11 billion have been spent on new and upgraded infrastructure since 2007, including a major electrification programme, improvements to the Highland main line, and the ongoing work on the Levenmouth rail link.

But it calls for a greater focus on long-term planning and, to help ensure this happens, the creation of a Scottish Rail Infrastructure Commission which would “examine the state of our railways and consider projects which could bring the generational benefits the nation desperately needs”.

“Scotland’s rail network has the potential to help address some of the medium to long-term challenges facing the nation, such as achieving net zero, reducing depopulation and growing the economy. But that potential can only be realised through ambitious thinking, something which is lacking at present,” the report states.

In tough economic times, it can be difficult to plan for the future, but failing to do so risks entrenching a downward spiral. Scotland needs ministers who are obsessed with finding ways to break it.