£450m boost for Scots commuters

The M8 will be upgraded to motorway standard for its entire length between Edinburgh and Glasgow as part of the package announced by Transport Minister Iain Gray.

The package also includes 104m to reopen the Airdrie-Bathgate rail link, allowing new train services into the Capital from West Lothian.

And there is 3m to pay for improved bus services along the M8/A8 corridor, including improved services to Edinburgh Park and the city centre from West Lothian.

Mr Gray said the comprehensive package will improve vital transport links between Edinburgh and West Lothian and increase access to jobs.

The move, which follows the announcement of improved transport links into the Capital from Fife, was today widely welcomed as a huge boost for the Capital’s commuters.

More than 45 per cent of the new money is earmarked for public transport projects. Funding the rail link between Airdrie and Bathgate will

mean trains running all the way from Helensburgh through to Edinburgh and provide new services between outlying towns and the city centres.

The Scottish Executive handed out 500,000 to fund development work last year. Now it aims to have the line opened again by 2007.

The 14-mile stretch of line closed to passengers in 1956 and to freight in 1979, but a study suggested resurrecting train services between Edinburgh and Glasgow via Bathgate would cut times for commuters.

Today’s investment announcement will also fund improved bus services on the M8 and A8 between Edinburgh, Livingston and Glasgow along with improved interchanges.

The idea is to create a network of local services connecting key employment areas through rail services and express buses, such as coach services along the M8/A8 from central Edinburgh, serving Edinburgh Park, Livingston and other sites along the corridor.

The cash is expected to amount to 2m for bus services and 1m for infrastructure investment.

Also included in the package is upgrading the A8 corridor between Baillieston and Newhouse to provide the capacity of a dual three-lane motorway and improving the junction between the A725 and M74.

The projects being funded are in line with the recommendations of the Central Scotland Transport Corridor Studies published last year.

Mr Gray said: "This package of measures represents a massive commitment by the Executive to improving transport links across central Scotland and will open up real employment opportunities in Edinburgh and West Lothian.

"By supporting improvements to public transport such as better rail links and improved bus services alongside investment in strategic road links, we can open up greater job opportunities and improve access to important services and directly benefit the local economy in these areas. They will open up opportunities for people living in Edinburgh and its surrounding towns and link them to real employment opportunities.

"Businesses stress how important good transport links are and I am committed to delivering these.

"I have listened to these concerns and by targeting these improvements today we can provide real benefits and investment for local economies, particularly in Edinburgh and West Lothian."

Mr Gray also announced he was setting up a special group of stakeholders to help co-ordinate delivery of the programme. He said: "Many of these projects are in their infancy and it is important we do not lose sight of our objectives if we are to make a real difference to the quality of these transport links."

The new package - which included the completion of the M8 as a motorway between Edinburgh and Glasgow, 40 years after it was opened - was widely welcomed.

Councillor Andrew Burns, the city’s transport leader, said: "This is very good news for central Scotland and Edinburgh in particular.

"It is very positive and is a new leap forward to help the flow of traffic along the main corridor which does, after all, link Scotland’s two main cities. One of the main issues facing city employers is constriction in the labour market and anything that can help bring people into work here is to be welcomed."

Councillor Carol Bartholomew, West Lothian Council’s enterprise and development chief, said: "I am absolutely delighted by this. We’ve got 107m which is a major investment in public transport and that will help open employment and leisure opportunities.

"We’ve been working hard on a number of projects and it is very satisfactory to see that reach a satisfactory conclusion. The improvements on the M8 are great news."

The latest announcement comes after the Executive announced a deal last month with ScotRail to introduce 22 new Turbostar-type trains, recruit extra drivers and tighten up performance targets.

This included longer trains for commuters on the Fife, Bathgate and Dunblane routes. Mr Gray also unveiled 22.4m worth of extra investment for better bus links and bigger park-and-ride sites in Fife and the Lothians last November.

Dunfermline East Labour MSP Helen Eadie, a long-term campaigner for better transport services, said more money is "always" needed for roads and public transport. She said: "We would always want to have more money and I’m sure our turn will come again.

"I think we have done well with regards to recent investment, but there are problems on the Edinburgh to Fife routes."

Transport Secretary Alistair Darling today issued a stark "must do better" message to the rail industry. He said the public needed to see tangible improvements in service.

At a rail conference in London attended by all the leading figures in the industry, he said: "If the train is dirty, clean it. If the toilet’s overflowing, no excuses - fix it. If you know a train is going to be late, tell your customers. And explain why and what you’ve done about it."

Such improvements were an essential part of the service and not optional extras, said Mr Darling.

He continued: "Passengers should be treated as valued customers, not left to feel like victims. One of the selling points of the private sector is often said to be its customer service ethos. Some of you are good at this. Others are not. It’s worth spending time getting it right."