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Research and Reports
A database of documents and reports released by industry bodies. You can download the document by clicking on its title, and can filter reports by author or subject. If you have a report you would like to submit to the Rail Hub, please email [email protected].
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Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan
28/07/2020Transport Scotland SearchResearchItemsScottish Transport Minister Michael Matheson unveiled ambitious plans to electrify the main lines to Inverness, Aberdeen and Carlisle via Dumfries on July 28. The plan forms part of a strategy to decarbonise rail passenger services in Scotland by 2035 – five years ahead of the UK target. TS has not yet costed the proposal to electrify some 1,616 single-track kilometres (stkm) which it expects to be authorised in stages. But using the Railway Industry Association’s latest cost estimates of electrification schemes, it would equate to somewhere in the region of £2.4 billion. For lines that do not justify electrification such as the West Highland and Far North Lines a combination of hydrogen or battery-powered trains would be used.
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Consultation on Scotland’s rail infrastructure strategy from 2019
01/11/2016Transport Scotland SearchResearchItemsThe Scottish Government “remains of the view that there are significant benefits to be gained from a fully devolved Network Rail in Scotland”, the administration says in this consultation paper on future strategy; it argues that devolution of rail powers has already been a success. Key aims listed for the future are “improved journey times; reduced emissions; and improved quality, accessibility and affordability.” The consultation also argues for moving to a ‘pipeline’ of schemes, rather than committing “to a list of projects at various stages of development”.
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What is the economic contribution of rail in Scotland?
01/03/2016Transport Scotland SearchResearchItemsSome £668m a year of Gross Value Added, £292m in tax and employment of around 13,000 (9,000 of them direct) people are among the benefits from the Scottish rail sector identified in this paper. User benefits are put at between £101m and £1,014m in this report, the first to quantify ‘whole-industry impact’.
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Delivering the Goods: Consultation towards Scotland’s Rail Freight Strategy
22/10/2015Transport Scotland SearchResearchItems“Without coordinated intervention the rail freight industry in Scotland is likely to severely decline.” Transport Scotland’s assessment of the future of rail freight with the closure of Longannet and fall in coal traffic is the background to this paper released as part of consultation on Scottish rail freight, which runs until January 22 2016. Mineral traffic has fallen from around 80% of the market in 2002-2006 to only around half now. TS says this “amplifies the need for other existing markets to grow and new markets to emerge.” Rail freight is seen as important not only in its own right, but also given the Scottish Government’s stated aim to “reindustrialise” the economy. Against a background of figures (2013) that show the rest of the UK accounting for 63% (£46.2bn) of Scottish exports, the consultation document reports that “movements within Scotland cannot be considered in isolation and current connections with the rest of the UK, the port network and Europe are crucial both now and to achieve growth potential.” The top overseas destination for Scottish exports was the USA (£3.9bn). Challenges listed include a lack of direct freight services between Scotland and the Channel Tunnel, with stakeholders saying this is “due to insufficient volumes and a number of technical constraints”.
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Caledonian Sleeper Franchise Agreement
11/02/2015Transport Scotland SearchResearchItemsRedacted version of the franchise agreement for the Caledonian Sleeper franchise. Commercially confidential information redacted.
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Caledonian Sleeper Franchise Full Business Case
20/06/2014Transport Scotland SearchResearchItemsRedacted version of the business case for the Caledonian Sleeper franchise. Commercially confidential information redacted.
