An obvious answer

A CONFIDENTIAL report which has been prepared by independent consultants for the Transport Minister Iain Gray on proposed rail links to Edinburgh and Glasgow airports has discovered some very interesting facts.

The report found that the link to Edinburgh Airport, while more expensive than Glasgow at 256 million, would represent far better value for money than Glasgow.

The consultants have warned Mr Gray that none of the four routes proposed for Glasgow would actually be able to sell enough tickets to cover their running costs. In other words, they would need to be subsidised indefinitely.

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Put in the context of the ongoing debate on whether Scotland’s hub airport should be in Edinburgh, Glasgow or whether a third airport should be built in Central Scotland, this is indeed significant news.

It is clear that the investment in the Edinburgh rail link would be sensible; it is predicted that by the year 2020, 3.3 million would use it - almost one in five airport passengers, while only slightly more than one in 20 would use the Glasgow link.

It is unfortunate for Mr Gray that his predecessor Wendy Alexander had already promised that both rail links would go ahead, before such vital research had been carried out.

Now, however, Mr Gray has a difficult decision in front of him. He has to think very carefully about whether to invest in the Glasgow scheme regardless of the warnings that it will require to be subsidised or pull the plug and risk the political fall-out in an election year.

The sensible thing to do would be to invest in Edinburgh, but hold off on Glasgow and consider how best the country would be served.

There is no doubt that Edinburgh would be the best choice for Scotland’s hub airport, and the findings of this report only reinforce that argument.

The rail link would of course make it the far more obvious choice, so for Iain Gray the path is clear.

On the basis of this report, he should abandon any plans for a Glasgow rail link and use the money to develop Edinburgh as Scotland’s hub airport.

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Edinburgh is the driving force behind Scotland’s economy, and the whole country depends upon the continuation of this success.

Putting money into Glasgow Airport just so it receives the same investment as Edinburgh Airport would be a waste of money, and the politics of the playground.