DORNOCH RAIL LINK ACTION GROUP - Spring Newsletter

14th April 2011

The Dornoch Rail Link Action Group is dedicated to pursuing the strategic upgrade of the Inverness - Thurso/ Wick railway line, with the Dornoch Firth Rail Link as its key component. This will revolutionise rail transport across the North Highlands, give a major boost to the local economy and provide alternatives to road transport not currently realised.

Spring 2011 Newsletter
See www.dorlag.co.uk for more information or to join the group.

Hon. President Revd. Alistair Roy BD
Bulletin for the Dornoch Rail Link Action Group - Spring 2011
Scottish Election Special

Dear members of the Dornoch Rail Link Action Group,
Introduction and general situation
1. We are past the cold winter which had its icy grip when I last wrote a newsletter, and
we are approaching something akin to normality on our railway lines, as my recent signing up to First Scotrail's mobile texting service to advise of train delays does give
me a somewhat more up-to-date view of the rail situation on a day to day basis.
Through this, I was made aware of a recent bad delay to the sleeper service a few
days ago, but there has been otherwise a welcome lack of bad local train delays.

2.
I indeed had the pleasure of using both our local train service and the one going from
Inverness - Glasgow and thence to Wolverhampton and back. There were no bad
delays, although our northbound train to Inverness did get held up at Slochd summit
owing to some melt water shorting out some of the signalling there by partially flooding
the track. I intend to do some fairly extensive train travel in the week before Easter, as
I will travel south to see family and friends. Some of your Committee members have
also travelled extensively by rail, as some of us go regularly to Glasgow/ Edinburgh. A
few people, myself included, avail ourselves of the sleeper service from Inverness to
London, although booking advance discounted tickets is highly recommended as walk-
on fares are expensive. I can personally recommend the Caledonian sleeper flexipass,
as this gives a better value first class sleeper service from Scotland to London and
back than the walk-on fare.

3.
We are nevertheless approaching an exciting time with regard to the railways in
general and the Dornoch Rail Link in particular. It is once again general election time
for Scotland, which takes place on the 5th May. This is also a good time for us to make
our voices heard for the railways in general and our campaign, which I shall elaborate
on in Section 2 of this letter. I will also give a short spiel on the High Speed 2 railway
proposal as well, as this does have some parallels with our campaign.

4.
The HS2 scheme is something which I personally support, although I appreciate that
support for this scheme is not universal. I should however make it clear that the views
expressed below on HS2 are my personal view, so please feel free to write in if you
disagree. There are nevertheless serious capacity, journey time and connectivity
issues between London and the North of England and Scotland which the existing
network (namely the East and West Coast Main Lines) is close to its practicable limits
to help resolve. The environmental considerations of transport and increasing expense
of road fuel make the necessity of major improvements to our trunk rail network
increasingly necessary, and the proven successes of both HS1 and our European
neighbours' high speed networks further reinforce the case. It is interesting to note that
wider economic benefits were brought into play in justifying the business case for the
HS2 scheme from London to Birmingham and next to Manchester and Leeds. The
progression of this scheme could create exciting opportunities for our rail network to
expand further, with the high-speed link hopefully reaching Scotland in future.

5.
This said, it is disappointing to note the increasingly hysterical and irrational anti-HS2
and anti-rail NIMBY howls which our Press seem to have given a lot of credence to.
They are arguing that the existing West Coast Main Line should be upgraded instead,
with possibly a new motorway as well, forgetting the horrendous expense and
disruption the last time the WCML was upgraded. New railways are much less
environmentally intrusive and disruptive than new roads, and I personally would
question the deployment of limited resources to major road-building when petrol and
diesel are becoming so expensive that no-one can afford to drive on the roads to start
off with. I have also noted similar flickering of the NIMBY-ism issue with regard to the
Dornoch Rail scheme, particularly in responses to the Highland Council regarding its
draft Highland Structure Plan. I would hope that the sources of this would recognise
that some of us do actually live in the Far North and do also depend on a good rail link
to assure our futures for the benefit of all the Highlands. We recognise there are
concerns about the Link, but this recognition must be on a two-way basis with regard ti
our own concerns about our Line's viability.

6.
There are several parallels to the Dornoch Rail Link here. Economic benefits for HS2
are equally applicable to our scheme (as our Corus studies have proved), and the
Department for Transport is to be congratulated for its foresight in embarking on the
HS2 scheme and its accompanying consultation. We would hope that similar blue-sky
thinking would apply to major rail improvements at our end of the Line, particularly
given the huge opportunities facing us as further outlined below. Indeed, recent
statements by the HIE may shed a glimmer of light in this regard.

7.
For those who wish to take part in the HS2 consultation, please type in the link on your
browser which will take you to the relevant website:
http://highspeedrail.dft.gov.uk/high-speed-rail

Election time
8.
Railway services are a devolved issue for Scotland and have been for some years.
The Scottish parliamentary election is therefore a particularly important election for us
as this will to a large extent determine the future for our railway system and
improvements thereto. It is important for our prospective candidates to remember the
following facts while thinking about transport issues:
 Rail travel still provides the most carbon-efficient mode of travel in terms of grams of
carbon dioxide emitted per passenger- or tonne- kilometre;
 Rail travel is the only form of mass transport which does not rely exclusively on fossil
fuels to make it work. Electric train travel will rely less on carbon-based fuels as its
primary energy source as more nuclear and renewable energy sources come on line
in future;
 Road fuel prices are now at their highest level for some years and will not go down
anytime soon, as increasing demand and political instability in the Middle East will
drive oil process higher still. Rail will not be as badly affected by this as much as road
or air travel will;
 Tax cuts on road fuel sound great, but we have a black hole the size of Alaska in our
public finances after the credit crunch, which has to be filled somehow. Such a move
will result in major tax increases or service cuts elsewhere, neither of which are
politically popular;
 Major improvements in alternatives to road travel, in terms of affordability, quality,
frequency and journey times are therefore needed. Rail has a major part to play in
this;
 Rail also has a major part to play in transport related carbon emissions reduction.
While greenhouse gas emissions reduction is not as popular or politically sexy these
days, we have a global responsibility to our children, descendants and the
environment to cut our emissions worldwide to avoid an environmental catastrophe;
 On a local level, improvements in the rail link to Caithness are vitally necessary, in
terms of capacity increases and journey time reductions, to help develop major green
tidal power resources. Increasing fuel prices, traffic congestion issues and the ropey
state of the A9 road surface will render the reliance on road links alone pretty
unattractive. I again refer to the Caithness Conference 2009 position where rail
journey time reductions were cited as a transport priority;
 Finally, it is possible to get major discounts and cost reductions on advance booking
for train travel. This does not apply to petrol, diesel, tyres, brakes or car services.
Politicians, Press and the general public should remember this before they whine and
moan about how expensive train travel is. I have personal experience of this.

9.
Above all, I ask all our members and readers to speak up in favour for the Far North
Line and the Dornoch Rail Link. Please understand that I mean all of the Far North
Line, including the Lairg Loop as well as the Inverness - Tain section and the northern
end. The Link is proven to have major benefits in terms of connectivity improvements,
journey time improvements and capacity increases as our Corus studies have
demonstrated. Additionally, it is absurd that major tidal energy and West of Shetland
oil/ gas developments should be undertaken without major commensurate
improvements to the rail line to the area where this action is going to happen - i.e.
Caithness. The Dornoch Rail Link is the key component of such an upgrade.

10.
For those readers who live in the Lairg/ Central and West Sutherland area, please
understand that investment of around £6 billion is being planned for the Caithness
area to develop the Pentland Firth tidal power schemes. Transport connectivity is
critically important in making this happen to our collective advantage. Rail
improvements are as important as road in this matter, and we stand by our view that
the Dornoch Rail Link is key in this. The economic development and income such an
improvement would generate in future would help us to stand on our own two feet and
even make money for the Highlands and Scotland in future, which could guarantee
and improve vital road, rail and other services throughout the Far North, including the
Lairg Loop. This will not happen with the line in its existing slow 19-century layout.

11.
Make no mistake - rail travel is every bit as important as road when it comes to
making an electoral impact, for the above reasons. It is important that everyone does
their bit to ensure that our candidates are made to support major rail improvements
everywhere, particularly on our Inverness - Thurso/ Wick Line. I therefore ask all our
membership and all readers of this newsletter to do their part and force our politicians
to act decisively and positively for our railways. Do not be afraid to give your
prospective candidates a thorough grilling on this issue when they doorstep you, and
don't be fobbed off with empty words.

12.
I will finish this section with an outright plea - whoever you support, whatever your
political persuasion, PLEASE VOTE!! Exercise your right to have your say in how
you are governed. For those who may say that the politicians don't listen, I will ask
this - how can they be made to listen if you don't speak??

Review
13.
Finally, I finish off this letter by reminding you that our Annual General Meeting will
take place on the 4th June at the Pentland Hotel, Thurso, at 11.15 am. There will be
refreshments available, and you are welcome to join us for lunch afterwards. This
AGM will be particularly important, as we will engage in a re-focussing exercise for our
campaign. We would greatly appreciate your support and input into this, so please
make every effort to come along to the AGM and take part. There will be a
membership renewal form attached to this letter, which you will get in the post. Please
fill in and send to the address in the enclosed stamped envelope if you wish to
continue your membership.

Yours sincerely and best wishes for Easter 2011,
Mark W. Norton, Convener, Dornoch Rail Link Action Group.
Web site - www.dorlag.co.uk/
Photo - Georgemas Station/Junction - Bill Fernie