Achi news desk-
Some are unconvinced that the measures proposed by cabinet secretary for net zero Mairi McAllan go far enough to meet that deadline, as they weigh up whether their party should continue the Bute House Agreement with the SNP.
Scottish Green members will vote to leave the agreement or remain in government at an extraordinary general meeting which is expected to be held at the end of May.
Ms McAllan’s proposals include developing a new national integrated ticketing system for public transport, establishing a climate assembly and tripling the number of charging points available for electric vehicles, in a bid to encourage more people to switch away from petrol and diesel cars.
The Rail for All report, published by the Scottish Greens in 2021, called for a 20-year investment of £22bn in Scotland’s railways “to build a modern, carbon-free network that is affordable and accessible to all, making rail the choice natural for commuters. and business and leisure travellers”.
He said: “This investment will be a central part of Scotland’s green recovery from Covid, creating at least 16,800 jobs while providing infrastructure that is vital to tackling the climate crisis, supporting our long-term economic prosperity, and which will be enjoyed by generations to come.”
The report also called for journey times to be “significantly reduced, particularly between key Scottish cities” to “enable rail to become the main means of long-distance travel”.
He also recommended that “all communities of more than 5,000 people should be connected to the national rail network and where this is not possible at a realistic cost they should be provided with an integrated coach route as part of the national strategic rail network.”
The report said that there should be a change in the goods being moved from the roads to the railways saying that the move would “significantly reduce carbon emissions and ease congestion on the road network”.
He said: “While many European countries have built high-speed lines and long-distance links that cross the continent and provide an affordable, comfortable and low-carbon option for commuting, business and leisure travel, Scotland and Britain generally. has systematically underinvested in the rail network in favor of roads.
“While important improvements have been made to the Anglo-Scottish lines and in and around Glasgow and Edinburgh, the network north of the Central Belt has been largely neglected, leaving passengers dependent on an aging network which in some cases performs poorly compared to historical performance. .
“In 1895, for example, one could make the journey from the Capital to Dundee in just 57 minutes, compared to 64 minutes today.”
The party’s document also proposed building a tunnel under the Firth of Forth Tunnel to transform east coast transport and cut journey times from Edinburgh to Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness.
Calling for communities of over 5,000 people to be connected to the rail network, he said new stations should be developed at Levenmouth, Peterhead, St Andrews, Erskine, Penicuik, Broxburn, Forfar, Hawick, Fraserburgh, Westhill, to the north west of Aberdeen, and should be examined at Haddington, Banchory, Strathaven, and Newburgh, Fife.
The report also recommended that ScotRail be returned to public ownership – which has since been achieved.
“The measures that have been announced will not help us to reach[the2045target”saidScottishGreensactiviststoTheHerald.
“We were informed at the Q&A session with our Members of the UK Parliament last Thursday that the government would be putting its foot on the road in terms of climate action.
“But that is not what has been announced. It does not fill people with confidence. We want something more concrete.”
They added: “If you’re looking at that one issue of transport. What would be really transformative would be if the Scottish Greens had succeeded in implementing our Rail for All report.
“It would reconnect more communities to rail, reversing many of Beecham’s cuts. It would then allow us to look at reducing fares and getting more people out of their cars.
“An integrated ticketing system that is being audited is not transformative. It doesn’t put your foot on the pedal.”
A second member told the Herald: “It’s radical ideas like the Rail for All report proposes that we would like to see pushed forward by the government and would be really effective.
“We all realize the financial constraints in which the Scottish Government operates, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything.”
“We realize that we are a minority party and the ideas in the Rail i Pawb report may not have the support of the SNP, but ideas like this would be effective in tackling the climate crisis and making people’s lives better. Easier.”
The Rail for All report argued, in building Scotland’s zero-transit rail network
needs “important in their own right” could also play a central role in rebuilding the Scottish economy.
He said: “Investment in rail is well documented to have a wider positive economic impact by improving connectivity and productivity… The Scottish Government’s economic models suggest that for every £1bn invested in rail transport, a total output of £1.6bn be. generated through direct, indirect and induced impact and a further 14,000 full-time equivalent jobs can be created across the Scottish economy.”
It highlights the reopening of the Borders Railway in 2015 with the line exceeding passenger predictions “carrying millions of passengers in both directions and playing a key role in attracting investment to the Borders and supporting tourism growth”.
Meanwhile, two senior officials in the SNP yesterday raised concerns about the impact of the BHA on their party.
MP Joanna Cherry called on SNP members to get a fresh vote on the deal, while former health secretary Alex Neil called for the two parties to “go their separate ways.”
The Scottish Government has received a request for comments.
