The future of transport infrastructure
Identifying potential transport investment in Scotland over the next 20 years will be the focus of the update of the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) starting later this year.
Transport Minister Humza Yousaf made clear the Scottish Government’s commitment to work together on the review with local councils, other key stakeholders, community groups, special interest groups and the general public.
Speaking at the Scottish Transport Infrastructure conference in Edinburgh, Mr Yousaf said:
“This Government has already shown its strong commitment to investing in the country’s transport infrastructure. We have delivered the iconic £1.35 billion Queensferry Crossing and the M8/M73/M74 Motorway Improvements projects and are progressing the design work for both the A9 and A96 Dualling programmes to name but a few.
“On rail, as part of our £3.5 billion capital investment programme to 2019, we are progressing our plans for the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement programme (EGIP), Aberdeen to Inverness rail line and the Highland Mainline.
“However, we now want to look to the future and STPR2 will examine the strategic transport infrastructure interventions required to support Scotland’s Economic Strategy, including inclusive growth objectives, reflecting outcomes and priorities to be set out in the National Transport Strategy (NTS2) and will align with other Scottish Government national plans, policies and strategies, including the National Planning Framework (NPF4) and the Climate Change Plan.
“STPR2 will help ensure that we deliver transport infrastructure improvements for Scotland which are fit for the 21st Century. We are already engaging with stakeholders in the Borders and in Aberdeen and we expect to start similar engagement in the south west of Scotland shortly.
“The review, to be completed within the lifetime of the current Parliament, will have both a national and a regional focus. The scope of the review will extend to the strategic road and rail networks and will also consider national infrastructure investment to support active travel, island connectivity, buses and ferries.
“We want to engage with as many groups and people as possible as we look to shape the future of transport in Scotland. We will be involving local councils and Regional Transport Partnerships (RTP’s) and looking to engage business and community groups, special interest groups and the wider public.”