(S3O-9820) Kintore (Proposed Railway Station)

5. Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has revised estimated passenger usage numbers for the proposed new railway station at Kintore. (S3O-9820)

The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change (Stewart Stevenson):

Network Rail is at an early stage of feasibility work on improvements to the Aberdeen to Inverness line, which includes consideration of a station at Kintore. Work to assess estimated passenger demand for the proposed station will be carried out as part of the business case. That will be done when the technical feasibility of the station has been assessed.

Alison McInnes: The minister said in October last year:

"we underestimate patronage in new railway stations. It might be worth saying that we use a Great Britain-based model, which we are increasingly of the view does not properly reflect Scottish circumstances."—[Official Report, 7 October 2009; c 20356.]

In his letter to me of last month, the minister stated that the Department for Transport was leading on the development of a new model for estimating patronage. Estimates for the discredited model suggest that 68,000 passengers would use a crossrail service, although it is fair to mention that those in the know suggest that those passenger figures could safely be doubled and still be achievable. Why has the minister backed off from developing a properly responsive Scottish model? When will he grasp the opportunity to bring about a significant modal shift at Kintore?

Stewart Stevenson: It is an interesting suggestion from a unionist party that I should not work with the Department for Transport. I find that we can make common cause on a range of issues. Some of the issues that affect us in Scotland affect other parts of the GB rail network, and the same can be said on a number of other matters. I intend to continue to work with the DFT.

Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): As the minister knows, the new model that is being examined by the DFT uses evidence from new stations that have been opened in Scotland. Does the minister believe that it is important to learn from the lessons that are offered by comparing estimated passenger numbers and actual passenger numbers at other stations that have been opened by the Scottish National Party Government, so as to apply them to future projects such as that at Kintore?

Stewart Stevenson: It is important to have a model that takes account of the specific local circumstances that will apply to proposals that may come before us. Transport Scotland has already provided the Department for Transport at Westminster with information relating to the Larkhall to Milngavie link, the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine link and Laurencekirk station. We will work with colleagues at Westminster to ensure that the model that is developed by the Department for Transport, with our co-operation and participation, is fit for purpose in a Scottish context.