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NEWS RELEASE Monday 9th January 2006 Launch of Transport Scotland / Airport rail link
parliamentary bills: TRANSform Scotland welcomed today's launch (Monday 9th)
of the new transport agency Transport Scotland, but cautioned that the
agency needs to deliver on environmental and social justice priorities. David Spaven, Chair of TRANSform Scotland, said: "We will be monitoring whether Transport Scotland
promotes projects that are of good value to the taxpayer. It is important
that the new transport agency focuses on delivering projects that benefit
the environment and social justice, and not get carried away with transport
mega-projects just for the sake of it." The launch of Parliamentary Bills for the Edinburgh Airport
Rail Link (EARL) and Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) are also expected
today. TRANSform Scotland are critical of the decision-making process
that has led to the current specification for the EARL scheme, considering
the proposal to be very poor value. David Spaven, Chair of TRANSform Scotland, said: "The current proposal for the Edinburgh Airport Rail
Link is poor value for money and should be scrapped. It is an example
of the Scottish Executive's faulty decision-making on transport expenditure
priorities. Rail access to Edinburgh airport could be provided more swiftly
and at a considerably lower price tag than the current proposal."
ENDS Notes to editors: [1] Edinburgh Airport Rail Link TRANSform Scotland remains unconvinced at the high priority
given to the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link as we judge the current proposal
as excessively expensive and poor value in the context of other, more
pressing, requirements for investment in the Scottish rail network. Any
lengthening of journey times on the flagship Edinburgh-Glasgow rail line
- as seems likely - would be an unacceptable consequence of the EARL project.
Scotland does not have a good record, over recent decades, of delivering major new rail schemes. TRANSform Scotland believes that the Executive should focus on delivering the most nationally-important major rail project: the reconstruction of Edinburgh Waverley Station END OF NEWS RELEASE
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