Scotland’s Levenmouth project takes off
A new fly-through video shows Scotland’s short but significant Levenmouth rail project snaking its way towards completion. The lines are now being laid to see services reintroduced on a moribund stretch of line through Fife...Read moreFreight figures but not top priority in Scottish transport plans
Scotland’s government, which has devolved repressibility for transport matters, has published its primary policy document, the second Strategic Transport Projects Review, confirming its key priorities for future transport investment. Despite strict decarbonisation targets, there is...Read more
Scottish rail needs to be decarbonised by 2035, also in remote areas
The Scottish government is following an aggressive policy of decarbonisation, and plans to make Scotland’s economy net-zero by 2045, five years ahead of the UK ambition for the same target. And thus, rail needs to...Read more
Rail freight at the heart of Forth Green Freeport bid in Scotland
An ambitious plan connecting several harbours in the River Forth, including the naval base at Rosyth, has been unveiled as the foundation of a ‘green’ freeport bid. A key element of the bid is the...Read more
Joy over Scottish freight terminal watered down by criticism
There was much fanfare over the long-awaited and much-celebrated opening of the freight terminal at Highland Spring, the water bottling plant in rural Scotland. However, the facility has had some even colder water poured on...Read more
Yorkshire and Scotland linked by new intermodal service
Its official launch was delayed, but a new intermodal service linking Yorkshire and Scotland is successfully underway. The iPort terminal in Doncaster and Mossend International Railfreight Park in Scotland have been connected by a brand...Read more
All Fall Down, it’s leaf busting time again
Autumn arrives a little earlier in Scotland than in other parts of the UK. That always makes it the first place to try out the season’s newest techniques for dealing with leaf fall and debris...Read more
Aberdeen rail freight could benefit from infrastructure works
It may be styled as Europe’s oil exploration capital and Scotland’s third city by population, but Aberdeen registers lowly on the scale of rail freight activity. However, a programme of works by Network Rail could...Read more
Scottish summer ends in flooding, trains at standstill
Torrential rain brought trains to a standstill in Scotland on Thursday, and submerged at least one main line, cutting of a large swath of the country. Weather wise, most of Britain had a day to...Read more
Freight flows for Highland Spring water
Despite a tide of challenges, Highland Spring mineral water has finally inaugurated their much-anticipated rail freight facility. The terminal at their headquarters and bottling plant in Blackford, Scotland, has dispatched its first train in front...Read more
Scotland: safety message clear as Leven work ramps up
Reopening closed railway lines is not always a straight-forward matter. The engineers in Scotland are finding out that fact with the Levenmouth project in Fife. Modern engineering standards do not always lend themselves to the...Read more
‘Scotland freight performance good, rest of report card below par’
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR), the autonomous government safety and performance watchdog, has assessed Network Rail Scotland as part of a nationwide review. The annual report card is not good reading for the...Read more
Rail has a part to play in Rosyth to Europe resurgence
Proposals to reconnect a Scottish port with freight ferry services to Europe could hinge on making rail freight part of the mix. That’s the message from stakeholders seeking to establish a direct link between Rosyth...Read more
Industry at large is in condemnation of HS2 Golborne Link cancellation
It slipped out with little fanfare on a day that might be designated as ‘a good one for bad news’. The government quietly cancelled the Golborne Link – a short section of the HS2 project...Read more
Scottish government in dispute with multiple unions, strike looming?
Management and unions seem to be further apart than ever in a series of industrial disputes. Despite optimism last week, the government in Edinburgh appears unlikely to placate unions over a deepening series of disputes....Read more
The scope of Scotland’s electrification programme
Just before the Jubilee celebrations, the Scottish government in Edinburgh somewhat failed to grab the limelight by announcing a programme of works hailed as the first phase of a rail decarbonisation scheme. The programme concentrates...Read more
UK specialists: ‘Growth in rail freight starts with the infrastructure’
Rail freight has rebounded strongly from the pandemic, backed by underlying growth. That is the message from a panel of industry experts debating the sector’s future at a recent round-table in Edinburgh. Rail insiders, industry...Read more
Freightliner’s access all areas fleet helps Scottish exports go by rail
A brand new service will help Scottish producers and manufacturers reach worldwide markets. Saturday saw the first departure of a new intermodal service operated by Freightliner. The train conveys containers from the company’s Coatbridge terminal...Read more
Overarching public ownership for Scotland’s Railway begins today
1 April 2022 marks the day that the Scottish Government has taken full public ownership of the network in the north of the UK. A new public agency will be responsible for all passenger operations...Read more