Tuesday’s announcement, as part of the “Programme for Government”, of a revision of transport administration in Scotland came as fulfilment of an election manifest pledge. John Swinney, the First Minister and leader of the ruling Scottish National Party, has given his busiest cabinet minister a task that many say is long overdue. Stephen Flynn, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport, will oversee bringing the burgeoning Transport Scotland agency back into the government under his ministerial remit.
Within the corridors of power at Holyrood, there is consensus that, of all the elected representatives in high office, Flynn is the most capable of pulling off such a wide-ranging and holistic reformation. He will need to do so at the same time as the recently elected Scottish Government carries out a wider programme of public-sector reform. With those reforms backing up policies on carbon reduction and a net-zero green economy, as well as promoting economic and industrial growth, there are high hopes that rail freight will play a significant role in the future prosperity of Scotland.
Maximise the impact of public investment
The Programme for Government says that Transport Scotland will be brought back into the Scottish Government, while the functions of other transport bodies will also be reviewed for possible merger. Other than the broad 2026-2031 window, there has yet to be a timetable laid out for Transport Scotland to cease operating as an executive agency and become part of the core Scottish Government. The agency itself has a broad remit, covering all modes of transport – both freight and passenger – and, as yet, the government has not been able to specify if the specialist Rail Directorate and the Director of Rail role will remain broadly as they are currently constituted. “The work to bring Transport Scotland into Scottish Government is at an early stage,” a Transport Scotland spokesperson told RailFreight.com. “No decisions have been taken on the detailed organisational arrangements.”
Answering a question from Tim Eagle, a parliamentary representative in the Highlands, where rail freight flows are few in number but as diverse as raw timber and spent nuclear fuel, the current transport secretary, Stephen Flynn, skirted around the estimated cost of reforming transport administration, but was clear that it did need a shake-up. “The time is now right to review the entire system of how transport is delivered across Scotland and deliver bold reform with a clear focus on ensuring Scotland’s publicly owned transport bodies support better integration of services and maximise the impact of public investment,” said Flynn.
Scotland’s Railway and Great British Railways
Almost all of Scotland’s rail freight movements are cross-border with England. That means that, under the reorganisation, executives of the devolved Scottish Government will have more direct interaction with their counterparts in England. Nevertheless, under the terms of the UK Railways Bill, currently under consideration in the UK House of Lords, Scottish Ministers will continue to specify and fund railway infrastructure and passenger services in Scotland. They already take an interest in freight developments – perhaps more so than in England, where capital works are largely privately financed, particularly in the intermodal logistics sector.
In a briefing to RailFreight.com, it is understood that the revised transport body will secure new powers of “Direction and Guidance” over the activities in Scotland of Great British Railways, the brand name for the nationalisation of much of the infrastructure and passenger operations of the railway network. The complication is that while the nationalisation of the railways is a UK government initiative, transport matters, including railways, are devolved powers under the remit of the governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. “Officials will continue to engage with colleagues in the Department for Transport to ensure that Scotland’s interests are fully reflected as rail reform is implemented,” assured Transport Scotland.
The rail freight question
Whatever difference of opinion may have been perceived as existing between Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government, the public face is one of resolute commitment to the cause of transport development. That may be no more evident than in the commitment to rail freight. The Scottish Government has an established policy objective of encouraging modal shift from road to rail and has supported an 8.7% rail-freight growth target for the current Network Rail control period (the five-year window of investment for the already public-sector infrastructure agency, running until 31 March 2029). On this, Transport Scotland was quite adamant that not only will that investment window be honoured, but that Scotland leads the way for the rest of the UK. “The Programme for Government commits that our railways will support economic growth and contribute to tackling the climate emergency,” said Transport Scotland. “Moving freight from road to rail is a key part of this work – easing congestion on our roads and reducing the associated carbon emissions.
“Scotland has shown genuine leadership in setting out positive policies that work for the rail freight industry. Our innovative growth targets are one example.” The agency went on to give a recent example, which is coincidentally within the Highland region that Tim Eagle represents. “On 6 August, the Cabinet Secretary [Stephen Flynn] visited West Fraser’s new £11.2 million rail freight terminal at Dalcross near Inverness, highlighting the contribution that rail freight can make to sustainable economic growth, reducing road congestion and supporting Scotland’s decarbonisation ambitions.”
Encourage modal shift opportunities
The West Fraser timber processing plant has been an often cited example of rail freight development. The Scottish Government has been eager to have a new showpiece, to follow up the high-profile opening of facilities at Highland Spring, that company’s mineral water bottling plant in Stirlingshire, back in August, 2022. “We are keen to support Scotland’s manufacturing sector and encourage modal shift opportunities. That is why we have continued to offset the additional capital costs associated with transporting freight by rail and water compared to road, through the Freight Facilities Grant,” said Transport Scotland, although the fund is a relatively modest few million pounds overall.
Commerce will be asking if the absorption of Transport Scotland into Holyrood – figuratively or physically – will make any material difference to the decision-making process. It will tighten the decision-making chain, that is for sure, but whether it shortens the process of gaining government support is, as yet, unclear. In any case, the broader question to be asked is to what extent does the Scottish economy have the potential to support additional rail freight operations. That is a question that even a reformed Transport Scotland would have to defer to Stephen Flynn, the apparent minister for everything.