Central Belt 'bullet train' plan shunted into a siding

The setback for supporters of the scheme came as ministers confirmed plans to increase services on the main line via Falkirk from four to six an hour and cut some journeys to less than 40 minutes, as The Scotsman revealed yesterday.

The project, which would involve electrifying the route, would take nine years to complete and cost between 500 million and 1 billion.

Limited-stop services would take 37 minutes, with stopping services taking 47 minutes, compared with the current fastest time of 48 minutes.

A report by the consultant Jacobs - for the Scottish Government's Transport Scotland agency - said the option "represents the most cost-effective way" of cutting journey times, increasing capacity and making rail more attractive.

However, Jacobs added: "For the long term, a bespoke new route is unlikely to offer better value for money than continued investment in the E&G route [the main link via Falkirk]."

The 7 billion estimate is also far more than the 2.9 billion price-tag put on the project in a separate study in April.

But Jacobs said a dedicated high-speed line, cutting journeys to 27 minutes, should still be considered further as part of an ongoing major projects review, due to be completed next summer.

It also recommended the further examination of other options, such as upgrading the Edinburgh-Glasgow line via Carstairs to reduce journeys to 35 minutes at a cost of between 1.5 billion and 3 billion. Another would be to speed up the existing line via Falkirk from 100mph to 125mph, which would reduce journeys to 34 minutes and cost 1 billion to 1.5 billion.

In the short term, Jacobs said some journeys could be cut to 42 minutes by reducing the number of trains stopping at Falkirk High station. However, the consultant said there could be difficulties implementing it and that it would only provide benefits outside peak hours.

Stewart Stevenson, the transport minister, also confirmed plans for a train-tram interchange at a new station near Edinburgh Airport to replace a proposed direct rail line to the terminal, as The Scotsman also revealed this week.

The station at Gogar, on the Edinburgh-Fife line, would also involve electrifying a link line via Dalmeny so it could also be served by Edinburgh-Glasgow trains.

Rail experts agreed that Scotland could not afford a high-speed line, but business leaders said it must still be considered as part of faster rail links to London. Jon Shaw, the director of the Centre for Sustainable Transport at Plymouth University, said that 7 billion "is an awful lot of money just to save ten minutes' journey time; you could fix almost all of Scotland's transport problems for that sum".

"What has been proposed instead is both practical and deliverable. Electric trains are more comfortable, quicker and more reliable than diesel," he added.

However, Ron Hewitt, the chief executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: "Adding an extra two trains an hour will not cope with the expected 30 per cent growth in rail passengers over the next decade.

"The real prize is for Scotland to be connected to the European high-speed network with a line between Glasgow, Edinburgh and London. It will have a massive environmental benefit and remove many inland UK flights."

Tories and SNP veto 650m airport link

THE Conservatives joined forces with the SNP in the Scottish Parliament yesterday to ditch the proposed 650 million Edinburgh airport rail link.

The vote was 64-61, and Labour and Liberal Democrat MSPs angrily accused the Tories of betrayal, as they had originally backed the project. They also ridiculed the SNP for basing their alternative on a new station at Gogar linked to the airport by trams - which the party unsuccessfully tried to scrap.

Stewart Stevenson, the transport minister, said the Gogar plan would cost only about 200 million and avoid putting a tunnel under the airport runway.

But business leaders condemned the move, with Iain McMillan, the director of CBI Scotland, saying it showed "a lack of ambition".