Plans to connect Grantown and Aviemore by steam rail delayed by Transport Scotland blunder
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PLANS to connect Grantown to Aviemore by steam railway have been hit by yet more delay amid claims of a blunder by Transport Scotland officials.
The initiative is regarded as the single-most important project to boost the Strathspey capital’s economy, but has been stuck in the pipeline for more than two decades.
The biggest remaining hurdle is getting the Strathspey steam railway line over the A95 trunk road at Gaich just outside of the town.
The multimillion pound scheme will require the whisky road to be re-aligned to accommodate an Armco tunnel for locos to continue on into Grantown.
But Highland councillors were told at their latest area committee meeting that the Rails to Grantown project had been hit by further complications caused by Transport Scotland.
The Strathspey Railway Charitable Trust (SRCT) was established to extend the line from its present northern terminus at Broomhill to the town some three miles away.
Chairwoman Linda Coe told the meeting: “By and large the railway part of the (TAWS) application is complete but unfortunately Transport Scotland is nowhere near ready as rather late in the day they identified that the entry being built to The Cairn Distillery fundamentally affected the A95 realignment and under-bridge plans which had been submitted with pre-application consultation.
“Despite various discussions with Transport Scotland and the TAWS Unit at the Scottish Government, we have no choice but to wait for Transport Scotland to redo their plans and surveys before we can submit the application.
“This potentially exposes us to having to redo the environmental surveys again, and as these are seasonal, for example for protected species such as hibernating bats, this obviously equals potentially much more delay.”
A TAWS Order avoids the need for private bills for transport-related developments, but requires approval from Scottish ministers.
Providing the background, Ms Coe said: “Not only are we the first heritage railway to apply for a TAWS Order, but we are also only the second application that Scottish ministers have had – the first being the refurbishment of Queen Street Station in Glasgow.
“It is made more complicated by being the first road and rail application, so we are applying in conjunction with Transport Scotland.”
A pre-application was undertaken with statutory consultees in 2019 with the Cairngorms National Park Authority, Highland Council and many others, and the trust had been addressing raised issues when the Covid pandemic struck.
Ms Coe added: “The main requirement from that consultation was that we updated our environmental surveys, which again is challenging during a pandemic, but we completed these in early 2021.
“Now we are in the process of getting ready for the full application which requires some 14 key documents comprising over 1500 pages.
“In addition to these, we have to demonstrate we have secured all the necessary land to construct the railway and the station terminus.
“Transport Scotland is seeking compulsory purchase powers for the areas of land it needs for its road realignment, but we in the railway are purchasing and leasing, and in the process of finalising suspensive missives for two leases and one purchase.”
It was then Ms Coe highlighted the hold up caused by Transport Scotland’s oversight.
The SRCT remains hopeful it can make the TAWS Order application this summer, but that depends on how quickly Transport Scotland finalises its revised A95 realignment plans.
Strathspey MSP Fergus Ewing (SNP) has supported the railway’s extension for many years.
He said: “This is very disappointing given undertakings that were received formerly from Transport Scotland.
“This has been a very long struggle thus far, and I shall continue to press Transport Scotland to deliver what they have themselves promised, namely the navigation of the necessary legal TAWS process.
“It has always been the case that completion of that process is the precursor to enable serious fundraising to begin in earnest.”
Badenoch MSP Kate Forbes (SNP) said the steam railway was a much-valued attraction for the region and was sorry to learn of the delay.
She said: “It does feel unfair that they could be having to pick up an additional financial cost as well as resulting delays to the project through no fault of their own.
“I hope Transport Scotland can work constructively with all of the parties involved to resolve this matter.”
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “The recent changes implemented on the A95 associated with the distillery development have meant that the previous design of the Gaich to Craggan scheme requires significant alteration.
“Our design consultants have been working to develop an amended design taking account of engineering and safety standards, environmental issues, and potential effects on nearby landowners, and will require to complete further detailed engineering, environmental, traffic and economic assessments in the coming months.
“We understand the trust is keen to progress their TAWS Order application, and we continue to meet with them regularly to discuss the scheme.
“The ongoing work is necessary to appropriately inform the trust’s application and enable their proposals to progress, and we will continue to work closely with them as we progress this vital design and assessment work.”
