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SubscribeLabour attitudes There have been few protests over the actions of several of the new unitary authorities in withdrawing concessionary fares for pensioners' rail travel. Most of the culprits are Labour-controlled. Will a Labour government have the same anti-rail attitude? If all the others follow suit it will rob ScotRail of around £2 million, a major part of ScotRail's income but a fleabite compared to the vast sums spent by the Scottish Office and the same local authorities on road building.
Over-capacity Roads with far too great a capacity have been built. The A1 south of Dunbar carries 5,500 vehicles a day but has a capacity for 18,000 yet the Government is planning to dual the road to expand its capacity to 46,000. The A74 carries 18,000 vehicles a day when it has a capacity to carry 46,000 and the six-lane motorway being built will have a capacity of 79,000 vehicles a day.
Cuts everywhere else While this enormous largesse is available for road users - with no proven economic benefit - all other public services including railways are strapped for cash. A fraction of the money wasted on road building could transform the rail network. The Commons public accounts committee has reneged on its promise to investigate. Perhaps RDS members throughout Britain should ask their MPs to investigate the waste of resources on road building in Scotland.
Quality wanted We have asked the Franchise Director to ensure that any bid which gives better service should get priority over a cheap bid. If not, it would be a betrayal of the promises given when privatisation was being justified at the beginning of the process.
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