Far North MSP secures promise on the future of Far North Line

Transport Secretary Stephen Flynn has confirmed to MSP David Green in Holyrood that there has been "no suggestions” of a reduction to Far North Line train services.

The Caithness, Sutherland and Ross MSP raised concerns that the £2 bus fare cap would cost state-owned Scotrail £750,000 a year in the Highlands, as confirmed by Scotrail to Holyrood’s Transport Committee last week.

Effectively indicating that publicly funded bus travel was taking away from publicly owned rail travel at a time when increased use is being called for.

A Scottish LibDem FOI that revealed Transport Scotland made “no assessment of the potential competitive impact of the £2 Bus Fare Cap on rail services in the Highlands” and there were “no discussions” with ScotRail on the matter.

That sparked fears that services on the line from Wick/Thurso to Inverness would suffer amid the 12% downturn in revenue leading to the question from Mr Green.

He asked Mr Flynn to "allay fears that this government’s policy will lead to fewer services and less investment in the Far North Line?"

The Cabinet Secretary responded there has been "no suggestions that there will be a reduction in services on the High North Line" but he did not comment on the huge Scotrail losses.

Following the exchange, David Green MSP said: "I welcome the Cabinet Secretary’s clarity that there will be no reduction in services on the Far North Line"

“I can only hope that the government will future consider public transport options in partnership, rather than letting them quietly compete against each other.” 

He added: “I also urge ministers to not lose sight of the challenges of reliability on the Far North Line, the age of the Class 158s, and the opportunities for freight.”